IC-NRLF 


j  B   M   517   527 • 

UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  PUBLICATIONS 

IN 

AMERICAN   ARCHAEOLOGY   AND    ETHNOLOGY 

Vol.  14 ,  No.  4,  pp.  437-488,  plates  22-23,  3  figures  in  text  March  11,1919 


THE  WINTUN   HESI   CEREMONY 


BY 
S.  A.  BARRETT 


oo 

CM 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  PRESS 
BERKELEY 


ANTHROPOLOGY  f 


LlBttAKY 


ANTHROPOLOGY  I 


,  J 


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UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  PUBLICATIONS 

IN 

AMERICAN    ARCHAEOLOGY   AND    ETHNOLOGY 

Vol.  1 4,  No.  4,  pp.  437-488,  plates  22-23,  3  figures  in  text  March  11,  1919 


THE  WINTUN  HE  SI  CEREMONY 

BY 

S.  A.  BAEEETT 


CONTENTS 

PAGE 

Introduction    438 

The  Hesi  ceremony  of  1906  -  441 

First    day    441 

Poles  and  Moki  cloak  --  441 

Setting  the  poles  -  442 

Preparations  for  the  first  dance  --  445 

The    Tuva -  446 

The  Tcelitu  -  447 

The  first  Tuya  dance -  447 

The   Moki  dance   451 

Oration   452 

Second  Tuya  dance  454 

Second   day 454 

Sweat  dance  454 

Eeception  of  visitors  455 

Tuya  dance  457 

Clowns    -  457 

Allotment  of  dance  house  places  458 

Singing  by  invited  individuals  458 

Visitors'  Tuya  dance  ..  460 

Feast   oration   460 

Further  Tuya,  sweat,  and  Moki  dances  ~  461 

Third  day -  -  462 

Morning  dances  462 

Speeches  of  instruction 462 

Other  morning  dance 464 

Afternoon    dances 464 

Orations   ..  465 

Final    dance 472 

Fourth  day  -  472 

Farewell  oration ...  472 

Departure    475 

Additional  speeches  and  songs  ... 475 

The  hand  game  482 

C 


434002 


438  University  of  California  Publications  in  Am.  Arch,  and  Ethn.      [Vol.  14 

INTRODUCTION 

The  Wintun  Indians  formerly  occupied  a  territory  lying,  in  the 
main,  between  the  Sacramento  river  and  the  crest  of  the  Coast  Range 
of  California.1  While  the  subdivisions  of  the  stock  have  not  been 
exactly  determined,  there  appear  to  have  been  three  major  languages, 
usually  called  the  Northern,  Central,  and  Southern.  Within  the  South 
ern  speech  there  were  at  least  two  dialects,  whose  distribution  on  the 
whole  conformed  to  the  topographical  differences  between  the  open 
Sacramento  valley  and  the  foothill  and  mountain  region.  These  two 
dialectic  groups  may  be  designated  as  the  Southeastern  and  South 
western  Wintun. 

The  culture  of  the  Southwestern  Wintun  seems  to  be  more  closely 
related  to  that  of  the  Porno  adjacent  on  the  west  than  to  that  of  the 
Maidu,  who  are  separated  from  them  by  their  own  Southeastern  kins 
men.  This  fact  appears  clearly  in  the  arts  and  industries.  The  mortu 
ary  customs  of  both  the  Southwestern  Wintun  and  Porno  favored  cre 
mation  but  omitted  the  celebration  of  a  mourning  anniversary.  The 
Maidu  buried  the  dead  but  held  an  annual  "cry"  or  "burning"  in 
their  memory. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  ceremonial  system  of  the  two  southern 
Wintun  divisions,  while  of  the  general  type  common  to  the  Indians  of 
a  large  part  of  central  California,  appears  to  have  had  closer  relation 
to  the  religious  organization  of  the  Maidu  than  of  the  Porno.  This  is 
instanced  by  the  Wintun  and  Maidu  both  practicing  a  Hesi  ceremony, 
which  the  Porno  lacked. 

Among  the  Southwestern  Wintun  of  Colusa  and  Yolo  counties, 
there  still  persists,  or  did  until  recently,  something  of  the  old  organiza 
tion  of  ritual  dances,  namely,  a  regular  series  of  ceremonies  extending 
from  fall  to  spring.  Formerly,  this  began  and  closed  with  perform 
ances  of  the  hesi  huya  about  the  first  of  October  and  first  of  May.  Of 
late  years,  the  initial  hesi  hiiya  has  been  replaced  by  a  subsidiary  rite, 
the  toto  huya,  but  the  spring  Hesi  continues  to  be  made. 

The  object  of  all  the  ceremonies,  but  especially  of  the  Toto  and 
the  Hesi,  is  primarily  to  insure  plentiful  wild  harvests  and  secondarily 
to  secure  the  health  and  general  prosperity  of  the  people.  The  per 
formance  of  the  Toto  is  believed  to  assure  an  abundance  of  "green 
foods,"  such  as  "Indian  potatoes,"  by  which  is  meant  Brodicea, 
Calochortus,  and  other  bulbs,  as  well  as  the  plants  whose  foliage  is 


Present  series,  vi,  284-289,  maps  1  and  2,  1906. 


1919]  Barrett:  The  Wintun  Hesi  Ceremony  439 

eaten.  The  Hesi  is  thought  to  produce  "ripe  foods"  in  plenty:  grass 
seeds,  manzanita  berries,  and  especially  acorns. 

At  intervals  during  the  months  between  these  two  major  cere 
monies,  there  occur  six  others2  of  lesser  importance,  which  are  usually 
celebrated  simply  by  each  village,  whereas  for  the  Toto  and  the  Hesi 
the  people  of  neighboring  villages  are  invited.  These  minor  ceremonies 
are :  keni,  lole,  sedeu  or  coyote,  silai  or  grizzly  bear,  kuksu,  and 
waisaltu. 

The  ceremonies  bearing  these  names  occur  in  the  order  given  and 
must  be  carefully  distinguished  from  dances  and  dancers  of  the  same 
names.  In  general,  any  dance  may  be  introduced  into  any  ceremony. 
In  addition  to  the  dances  bearing  the  same  names  as  the  ceremonies, 
there  are  other  dances,  which  do  not  correspond  in  designation  to  any 
ceremony.  These  are  the  waima,  sill,  salalii,  and  gllak.  This  makes 
about  a  dozen  dances  and  eight  ceremonies.  The  word  for  dance  is 
tono,  for  ceremony  huya.3 

What  dances  shall  be  made  during  any  one  ceremony  seems  to  be 
left  largely  to  the  volition  of  the  participants,  particularly  the  director, 
who  appears  to  be  usually  also  a  shaman  of  some  reputation.  The  par 
ticular  dance  named  after  a  ceremony  is  always  made  some  time  dur 
ing  the  ceremony,  but  a  selection  of  other  dances  is  usually  also  given, 
without  any  set  rule  as  to  their  order  within  the  ceremony.  Between 
the  eight  regular  ceremonies,  gatherings  without  especial  religious 
significance  and  devoted  chiefly  if  not  wholly  to  pleasure,  may  also 
be  held.  In  these  assemblies  any  or  all  of  the  twelve  named  dances 
are  made,  but  without  association  as  a  ceremony.  Such  an  occasion 
is  known  by  the  same  name  as  a  single  dance,  tono,  as  opposed  to  the 
huya  or  complex  of  dances  made  with  a  sacred  purpose. 

Of  the  two  major  ceremonies,  the  Toto  and  the  Hesi,  the  latter  is 
the  more  important.  It  lasts  four  days  and  nights,  and  is  the  one 
ceremony  whose  regulations  all  residents  and  visitors  observe  scru 
pulously.  In  recent  years  its  particular  form  and  exact  date  are 
determined  annually  by  the  spiritual  visit  of  a  shaman  to  the  abode  of 
the  dead,  ~bole  wttak*  where  instructions  are  received  by  him  from 


2  There    may   have    been    a    greater    number    before    aboriginal    customs   were 
disturbed. 

3  Huya  means  to  gather  or  assemble.     Strictly  there  is  no  Hesi  dance  but  Tuya 
and  Moki  dances  in  the  Hesi  ceremony. 

•*  Bole  is  the  ghost  of  a  dead  person ;  saltu,  a  spirit.  The  Southwestern  Win- 
tun  distinguish  their  modern  ceremonies,  which  contain  a  bole  or  ghost  element 
(allied  to  the  "Ghost  Dance  movement"  prevalent  about  1890  among  the  eastern 
Indians  of  the  United  States),  from  the  older  ceremonies  which  were  free  of  such 
an  element. 


440  University  of  California  Publications  in  Am.  Arch,  and  Ethn.      [Vol.  14 

Katit*  who  controls  the  world  at  large,  as  well  as  the  domain  of 
departed  human  spirits. 

The  following  pages  describe  a  Hesi  ceremony  celebrated  by  the 
Wintun  of  the  village  Let,  in  Cortina  valley,  Colusa  County,  in  the 
western  foothill  region  of  the  great  Sacramento  valley,  from  May  5 
to  8,  1906 — less  than  a  month  after  the  earthquake  that  preceded  the 
fire  which  destroyed  San  Francisco.  The  earthquake  was  felt  strongly 
in  Cortina  valley  and  was  interpreted  by  the  Indians  as  a  sign  of  the 
great  displeasure  of  Katit  with  the  world  and  its  people.  This  cere 
mony  was  therefore  attended  more  widely  than  had  been  customary 
for  some  years,  and  thus  afforded  an  excellent  opportunity  for  observa 
tion.  The  author  attended  the  ceremony  to  record  its  salient  features 
for  the  University  of  California;  and,  in  the  summer  of  1907,  was 
enabled  to  obtain  from  the  old  director  and  shaman,  Salvador,  or  Sasa, 
whose  trance  had  preceded  the  performance,  explanations  of  a  number 
of  its  features,  as  well  as  phonographic  records  of  the  speeches  made 
by  him  in  its  conduct  and  of  the  several  songs  used. 

Frank  Wright,  a  man  then  of  about  thirty-five  years,  who  spoke 
good  English,  served  in  this  ceremony  as  Salvador's  chief  assistant, 
and  on  the  latter 's  death  a  few  years  later  succeeded  him  as  principal 
director  of  the  Hesi  among  the  "Wintun  of  the  region.  He  furnished 
the  author  with  information  during  the  progress  of  the  ceremony; 
and  he  served  as  interpreter  for  Salvador  when  the  phonograph  records 
were  secured.  As  many  as  possible  of  the  speeches  and  songs  were 
transcribed  by  the  author  and  translated  for  him  by  Mr.  Wright  on 
this  occasion.  In  1909  Dr.  A.  L.  Kroeber  had  opportunity  to  verify 
these  transcriptions  and  to  obtain  translations  of  the  remaining 
records.  This  work  was  done  by  him  with  Mr.  Thomas  Odock,  a  South 
eastern  Wintun,  who  understands  the  Southwestern  dialect  of  Cortina 
and  is  himself  conversant  with  the  Hesi  through  the  instruction  of 
Salvador. 

Since  the  ceremonial  dance  system  of  the  Maidu  Indians  of  Chico 
was  very  similar  in  its  outlines  and  in  many  details  to  that  of  the 
Southern  Wintun,  and  since  the  former  has  been  described  by  Dr. 
Roland  B.  Dixon,6  it  is  unnecessary  to  repeat  here  the  features  com 
mon  to  all  the  dances  of  the  region.  Such  matters  as  the  structure  of 
the  dance  house,  the  use  made  of  the  center  post,  the  performance  of 
the  Moki,  and  the  like,  which  are  practically  the  same  for  all  the 
rituals  of  several  ethnic  groups,  will  therefore  be  assumed  as  familiar 


Katit  is  a  species  of  hawk. 

The  Northern  Maidu,  Bull.  Am.  Mus.  Nat,  Hist.,  xvn,  283-333,  1905. 


1919]  Barrett:  TJie*-Wintun  Hesi  Ceremony  441 

to  the  reader,  and  the  account  that  follows  is  restricted  to  descriptions 
of  the  ceremony  witnessed  and  explanations  secured  from  the  Indians. 
In  short,  this  paper  is  primarily  a  record  of  information  that  may 
never  again  be  obtainable.  It  is  not  an  attempt  to  elucidate  a  part  of 
a  complex  religious  scheme  with  reference  to  the  system  as  a  whole. 


THE  HESI  CEREMONY  OF  1906 

A  fewr  days  after  the  earthquake,  Salvador  suddenly  went  into  a 
trance  and  on  his  awakening  announced  that  he  had  journeyed  to  bole 
wilak,  "ghost  world,"  and  that  Katit  had  directed  him  to  announce  to 
his  village  that  on  a  certain  day,  which  was  Saturday,  May  5,  all  must 
assemble  for  the  Hesi,  and  to  invite  the  Indians  of  the  adjacent  parts 
of  the  Sacramento  valley,  and  the  Porno  and  Wintun  of  Cache  creek, 
Sulphur  Bank,  and  Upper  Stony  creek. 


FIRST  DAY 

Friday,  May  4,  and  the  forenoon  of  the  first  day  of  the  ceremony, 
Saturday,  May  5,  were  spent  by  Salvador  and  one  of  his  assistants  in 
the  preparation  of  ceremonial  poles,  head  dresses,  rattles,  and  the  like. 
Most  of  these  paraphernalia  only  needed  rejuvenating,  since  they  had 
been  kept  over  from  the  ceremonies  of  the  year  before.  The  work  on 
them  was  done  in  the  dance  house. 


POLES  AND  MOKI  CLOAK 

These  ceremonial  objects  consisted  of  the  following  pieces.  There 
was  a  pole  about  25  feet  long,  with  a  small  bunch  of  feathers  at  its 
apex  and  near  this  a  sort  of  banner  of  pieces  of  colored  cloth.  It  was 
also  wound  about  its  entire  length  with  cloth  of  different  colors.  This 
pole  was  to  be  erected  in  front  of  the  dance  house  entrance  and  was  the 
most  important  of  the  ceremonial  objects.  There  were  three  smaller 
poles,  also  decorated  with  variously  colored  cloth,  for  use  about  the 
feasting  table.  Further,  there  were  a  short  cloth-wound  pole,  and  a 
cylinder  of  black  cloth  twelve  or  fifteen  inches  high  and  eight  or  ten 
inches  through ;  both  for  the  roof  top  of  the  dance  house.  All  these 
objects  were  called  bole  sak,  and  while  prepared  without  any  special 
ceremony,  were  placed  in  their  respective  positions  with  singing  and 
ritualistic  observance. 


442  University  of  California  Publications  in  Am.  Arch,  and  Ethn.      [Vol.  14 

The  only  other  strictly  sacred  object  used  was  the  long  cloak  worn 
by  the  moki  performer.  In  earlier  times,  this  cloak  was  a  net  of  eagle 
feathers  and  covered  the  wearer  completely  from  head  to  foot,  except 
that  small  openings  were  left  through  which  he  might  see  to  make  his 
way  about.  In  the  present  instance  the  network  was  replaced  by  gunny 
sacking  and  the  feathers  by  strips  of  cloth,  so  that  the  costume  was 
but  a  sorry  representative  of  the  aboriginal  form. 

SETTING  THE  POLES 

As  each  of  the  ceremonial  objects  was  completed  in  the  dance  house, 
it  was  placed  011  the  floor  just  south  of  the  center  post.  They  were 
then  placed  in  position  in  the  following  manner  and  order : 

The  large  pole  was  first  placed  in  position  in  its  permanent  hole  in 
front  of  the  dance  house.  With  an  ordinary  digging  stick,  Salvador, 
who  will  hereafter  be  designated  as  the  director,  removed  the  cobble 
stones  with  which  the  hole  had  been  filled  to  keep  it  from  crumbling 
from  year  to  year.  He  then  took  a  six-foot  cocoon  rattle,  called 
cokokai,  and  rattled  four  times  over  the  hole,  crying  in  each  case  a 
long  drawn  out  "he."  Toward  the  end  of  each  call  his  voice  gradually 
fell  in  volume.  He  stretched  his  rattle  the  first  time  toward  the  west, 
'that  is,  the  dance  house,  then  to  the  south,  then  the  east,  and  finally 
the  north.7  'In  each  instance  he  stood  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  hole 
and  extended  his  rattle  across  it.  Thereupon  he  stepped  back  toward 
the  east,  and  setting  the  end  of  the  rattle  on  the  ground  shook  it  in 
time  to  the  tcoll  muhl  song,  which  he  sang  until  the  pole  was  in  place. 

Tcoli  Songs 

tco'lule  wile  tco'lule  huyama  tco'lule 

stand  up  healthy  stand  up  assemble  stand  up 

As  the  director  began  this  song,  his  assistant  commenced  the  cere 
mony  of  taking  the  pole  from  the  dance  house  to  place  it  in  position. 
From  just  back  of  the  center  post  of  the  dance  house,  he  slowly  walked 
completely  around  the  recumbent  pole  and  to  the  south  of  the  butt 
of  the  pole  (fig.  1,  A).  Here  he  stopped,  faced  west,  raised  his  right 
hand  over  his  head  and  slightly  forward,  and  gave  a  long  "he," 
toward  the  end  of  which  he  let  his  voice,  and  simultaneously  his  hand, 


7  West,  south,  east,  north  is  the  invariable  ceremonial  circuit  of  the  Hesi,  at 
any  rate  with  reference  to  the  directions  faced. 

s  University  of  California  Museum  of  Anthropology  phonograph  number 
14-1505;  words  transcribed  by  A.  L.  Kroeber,  translated  by  Thomas  Odock. 
Said  to  be  the  composition  of  the  singer,  Salvador.  Tcoli  muM  means  ' l  inanimate- 
object-standing-erect  song,"  that  is,  pole  or  stump  song. 


1919] 


Barrett:  The  Wintun  Hesi  Ceremony 


443 


fall  very  slowly,  and  blew  two  short  blasts  upon  a  double  bone  whistle, 
toka.  He  then  turned  completely  around,  made  another  circuit  about 
the  pole,  and  repeated  the  same  cry,  motions,  and  whistling  at  the  same 
point  as  before,  but  facing  in  turn  south,  east,  and  north.  Next,  he 
circled  rapidly  four  times  round  the  pole,  continuously  blowing  short 


Figure  1 

Bitualistic  course  of  the  director's  assistant  before  removal  of  the  long  pole 
from  the  dance  house. 


Figure   2 
Second  course  about  the  pole. 

blasts  on  his  whistle,  stopped  at  the  foot  of  the  pole,  made  a  motion  to 
pick  it  up,  and  turned  completely  around.  This  he  also  did  four  times 
(fig.  2).  The  fifth  time,  he  actually  picked  the  pole  up,  carried  it  out, 
circled  four  times  about  the  hole  prepared  for  it,  stopped  on  the  east, 
held  the  pole  up  toward  the  west,  turned  himself  around,  and  repeated, 
extending  the  pole  south,  east,  and  northward.  He  now  walked  once 


444 


University  of  California  Publications  in  Am.  Arch,  and  Etlin.      [Vol.  14 


around  the  hole  and  pointed  the  base  of  the  pole  at  it  four  times.  The 
fifth  time,  he  actually  inserted  the  butt  and  tamped  it  firmly  into  place. 
He  then  joined  the  director,  and  the  pair,  facing  the  now  erected  pole, 
sang  the  following  tcupa  song  for  several  minutes : 

/  Tcupa  Song® 

The  refrain,  indicated  in  the  text  by  "A,"  is: 

tcenti'  weni'  tcenwe'r  tcenwe'r 

down  arrive  down-come  down-come 


wile  leluro  mi 

A 

mato  wole  na       '    - 

A 

tcalal  wole  wole  b 

tcalal  wole  na  weni 

A 

wile  leluro 

A 

tcalal  wole  wole  Lami 

A 

mato  wole  wole  Lami 

A 

wile  leluro    V  f  -• 


mato  wole  Lami 

A 

tcalal  wole  Lami 

AH 


Crying  "he,"  the  pair  sang  a  few  more  words  of  the  song,  and  then 
called  "he,  he,  he,  he,"  bending  themselves  toward  the  pole  four  times. 

This  entire  act  of  setting  the  pole  is  said  to  be  a  notification  to  Katit 
and  his  associates  among  the  dead  that  the  preparations  had  been 
made  and  that  the  Hesi  was  about  to  be  celebrated  as  directed. 

The  director  now  resumed  his  singing  in  the  same  place,  while  his 
assistant  entered  the  dance  house  for  the  rain  fetish  and  the  food 
fetish.  The  former  was  the  above  mentioned  four-foot,  wrapped  pole, 
tufted  with  cloth  and  feathers;  the  latter,  the  cloth-covered  cylinder. 
Feathers  tied  to  projections  at  the  top  of  this  gave  it  somewhat  the 
appearance  of  a  high  crown.  The  bringing  out  of  these  two  objects 
was  attended  with  much  less  ceremony.  The  assistant  merely  carried 


9  Eecord  14-1506,  Odock-Kroeber  transcription.     Composed  by  Salvador. 

i°  This  refrain  frequently  occurs  three  or  four  times  over  in  the  song  where 
"A"  has  been  written  only  once.  Many  of  the  other  phrases  are  repeated. 

11  Glossary:  wile,  healthy;  leluro,  make,  become;  mi,  you;  mato,  your;  tcalal, 
rose,  pretty,  beautiful;  wole,  floor  of  dance  house;  weni,  arrive. 


1919]  Barrett:  The  Wintun  Hesi  Ceremony  445 

them  on  the  roof  of  the  dance  house  (blowing  his  double  whistle  con 
tinuously,  while  the  director  sang) ,  and  circled  sixteen  times  about  the 
roof  around  a  diameter  of  twenty  or  twenty-five  feet,  holding  the 
fetishes  up  in  the  four  usual  directions  once  after  each  four  revolutions. 
However,  he  extended  them  toward  the  north  four  times  instead  of 
once.  He  then  set  the  stick  in  the  roof  a  little  northwest  of  the  center, 
slipped  the  cylinder  over  the  stick  on  the  roof,  descended,  still  blow 
ing  his  whistle,  rejoined  the  director,  and  sang  with  him  for  a  short 
time. 

The  director  now  'went  into  the  dance  house  and  set  about  prepar 
ing  his  ceremonial  cloak  and  certain  dance  paraphernalia. 

Two  assistants  meanwhile  set  the  three  smaller  poles  at  the  ends  of 
the  feasting  table,  with  the  following  procedure.  All  three  poles  were 
first  leaned  against  the  eastern  end  of  the  table  and  a  sub-assistant, 
standing  a  short  distance  off,  began  to  sing  the  tcupa  song.  He  accom 
panied  with  a  split  stick  instead  of  the  cocoon  rattle,  but  it  is  said  that 
this  substitution  had  no  significance.  The  chief  assistant  passed  contra- 
clockwise  four  times  around  the  table  and  poles,  turned  completely 
round,  reversed  his  direction,  circled  about  four  times  clockwise,  and 
turned  again,  all  the  time  blowing  rapidly  upon  his  double  whistle. 
He  then  took  the  two  poles  which  were  to  be  set  east  of  the  table,  and 
carried  them  four  times  around  in  each  of  the  same  directions,  waving 
them  four  times  over  the  table  after  each  set  of  circlings.  He  then 
passed  four  times  around  the  holes  dug  for  them,  turned  himself 
around  again,  motioned  four  times  as  if  to  set  them,  turned  again,  then 
put  them  in,  passed  four  times  around  both,  turned  once  more,  and 
finally  took  a  position  beside  the  singer  and  accompanied  him  for  a 
minute  or  two.  They  then  both  cried  "yn,"  sang  a  few  moments 
more,  and  ended  with  "ha,  ha,  ka,  ha,"  bending  toward  the  poles  with 
each  syllable. 

The  pole  for  the  western  end  of  the  table  was  then  taken  up  and 
set  with  the  same  cycle  of  movements  and  songs.  This  placing  of  the 
poles  ended  shortly  after  noon  of  May  5. 

PEEPAEATIONS  FOE  THE  FIEST  DANCE 

About  two  o  'clock,  the  director  went  on  the  roof  of  the  dance  house 
and  cried  a  prolonged  and  loud  "he"  successively  in  the  four  ritual 
directions,  waiting  fifteen  or  twenty  minutes  between  each  call.  This 
crying  is  said  to  have  notified  Katit  as  well  as  the  Indians  present  that 
the  preparations  were  complete.  Returned  to  the  dance  house,  the 


446  University  of  California  Publications  in  Am.  Arch,  and  Efhn.      [Vol.  14 

director  continued  his  work  on  the  dance  regalia  until  about  sundown, 
when  he  ascended  again  to  the  roof  and  cried  as  before,  this  time  with 
even  greater  force. 

In  the  early  part  of  the  evening  of  May  5,  the  fire  was  lighted  in 
the  dance  house  and  kept  burning  low.  About  nine  o'clock  the  people 
of  the  village  (the  visitors  having  not  yet  arrived)  assembled  inside, 
while  four  men  dressed  themselves  for  the  dance  just  outside  the  rear 
or  western  door  of  the  house.  Three  of  these  men  wore  the  tuya 
costume  or  "big-head,"  as  it  is  currently  called  in  English,  and  the 
fourth  the  tcelitu. 

THE  TUYA 

The  chief  feature  of  the  tuya  is  a  skull  cap  or  ana*2  of  shredded 
tule  (Lei)  into  which  are  stuck  a  large  number  of  long,  slender  willow 
rods,  decorated  with  feathers.  These  plumes  are  called  tcalalj  "roses," 
and  the  whole  head-dress,  saltu.13  This  is  often  three  feet  in  diameter 
and  half  as  high.  The  plumes  mostly  pointed  forward,  and  those  in 
front  downward,  hiding  the  face  of  the  dancer.  Frequently  also,  small 
twigs  are  stuck  into  the  front  of  the  tule  cap  so  as  to  hang  down 
directly  in  front  of  the  face  and  complete  its  concealment.  Among 
the  plumes,  four,  called  kewe,  of  extra  length  and  with  special  feather 
ing,  are  forced  down  through  the  tule  cap  and  into  the  wearer 's  head 
net  or  ticin,  thus  serving  to  keep  the  entire  head-dress  in  place.  One  or 
more  skewers  (paka)  also  hold  the  cap  to  the  net.  From  another 
skewer  at  the  back  there  hang  a  pair  of  long  yellowhammer  quill  bands 
(pit),  almost  reaching  to  the  ground  and  floating  out  in  the  rapid 
motions  of  the  dance.  About  the  neck  is  suspended  a  small  double 
whistle,  t oka,  usually  made  of  wing  bones  of  the  chicken  hawk. 

The  body  of  the  tuya  dancer  is  bare  to  the  waist.  Formerly,  only  a 
clout  was  worn  below.  At  present,  some  article  of  civilized  clothing 
is  worn  about  the  lower  part  of  the  body,  with  an  improvised  clout, 
such  as  a  bandana  handkerchief,  tied  over  it.  From  the  waist  to  the 
knee  there  is  a  kind  of  skirt  made  of  thin  cloth,  on  which  are  sewed 
variously  shaped  bits  of  cloth  of  different  colors.  This  is  a  degenerate 
substitute  for  the  feather  skirt  of  the  old  days. 

In  ancient  times,  the  exposed  parts  of  the  body  were  painted  black 
with  sika,1*  paint  of  charcoal  or  black  mud.  There  were  no  definite 

12  "Head." 

is  At  least  so  informants  stated.  As  saltu  means  ' '  spirit ' '  they  were  evidently 
naming  the  head-dress  as  the  most  distinctive  feature  of  the  impersonation. 

!4  Southeastern  Wintun :  silca,  grizzly  bear ;  also  the  name  of  a  ceremony 
among  these  people. 


1919]  Barrett:  The  Wintun  Eesi  Ceremony  447 

designs,  whole  areas  such  as  the  face  or  chest  being  colored,  although 
narrow  bands  were  sometimes  drawn.  This  body  decoration  seems 
not  to  have  had  any  special  signification.  At  present  very  little  paint 
ing  is  done. 

A  split  stick  rattle,  tcakatta,  in  each  hand  completes  the  outfit  of 
the  tuya  dancer,  except  that  in  certain  cases  the  wrists  are  bound 
together  with  a  stout  cord.  Only  certain  individuals  have  their  wrists 
tied.  The  Indian  explanation  of  the  practice  is  that  it  prevents  cramps 
due  to  the  violence  of  the  dancing. 

In  this  first  dance,  two  of  the  three  tuya  danced  in  their  tule  caps, 
the  feathered  rods  for  the  head-dresses  not  having  been  completed  in 
time. 

THE  TCELITU 

The  fourth  of  the  company,  the  tcelitu,  who  was  to  start  and  stop 
the  tuya  dancers  and  direct  their  movements,  wore  neither  the  large 
head-dress  nor  the  imitation  feather  skirt.  He  had  on  a  down-filled 
head  net  (pute)  and  toward  the  back  of  the  top  of  the  head  a  tuft  of 
magpie  feathers  (toiti)  fastened  with  skewers.  Across  his  forehead 
he  wore  a  "short"  yellowhammer  head  band  (taluk)  and  about  his 
neck  a  necklace  (hiiti).  His  body  was  bare  to  the  waist.  In  his  left 
hand  he  carried  a  bow,  (nun),  and  in  his  right  a  quiver  (koltcis),  con 
taining  arrows  (nuko).  At  least  he  carried  them  constructively.  In 
reality,  a  skin  folded  over  a  stick  represented  the  quiver  full  of  arrows, 
and  another  stick  the  bow. 


THE  FIRST  TUYA  DANCE 

At  about  ten  o'clock,  everything  being  in  readiness,  the  dancers 
blew  their  whistles  and  the  director  and  others  who  were  inside  the 
dance  house  cried  "he"  and  commenced  a  song,  to  which  the  dancers 
stepped  in  time  as  they  circled  about  the  point  where  they  had  dressed 
outside  the  dance  house.  This  circle  was  about  fifty  feet  in  diameter, 
and  after  four  revolutions,  all  went  to  the  front  door,  where  they 
rattled  their  split  sticks  loudly  and  finally  entered.  They  then 
marched,  without  dancing,  four  times  around  the  floor,  going  as  near 
as  possible  to  the  side  posts  which  divided  the  space  reserved  for 
dancing  from  that  occupied  by  the  spectators  ( see  fig.  3 ) .  They  next 
marched  once  around  the  center  pole  alone,  after  which  the  three  tuya 
went  out  into  the  tunnel  of  the  front  door  and  later,  upon  receiving  a 


448  University  of  California  Publications  in  Am.  Arch,  and  EtJin.      [Vol.  14 

signal  from  the  tcelitu,  danced  back  into  the  main  part  of  the  house, 
just  as  they  would  dance  in  during  an  ordinary  dance,  which  is  usually 
not  preceded  by  the  circling  about  the  inside  of  the  dance  house. 

The  music  for  this  dance  was  furnished  by  one  or  more  air  singers, 
called  koliu,  provided  with  cocoon  rattles,  several  burden  or  chorus 
singers,  called  tcoklwin,  each  provided  with  a  split  stick  rattle,  and  one, 
or  sometimes  two  drummers,  called  tlnel,  who  usually  stamp  with  their 
bare  feet  upon  the  large  hollowed  section  of  a  log  used  as  a  drum 
(tcobok).  Sometimes  the  drummers  use  a  large  stick  (tok),  which 
they  strike  vertically  upon  the  drum  much  as  a  workman  uses  a  tamper. 
The  positions  about  the  drum  of  these  three  classes  of  musicians  are 
shown  in  figure  3 ;  the  air  singers  are  designated  by  two  small  triangles, 
the  chorus  singers  by  a  number  of  small  crosses,  and  the  drummers  by 
two  squares  upon  the  drum  itself.  The  air  singers  carry  the  melody, 
accompanying  it  with  the  swishing  sound  of  their  cocoon  rattles,  while 
the  chorus  adds  volume  with  a  loud  "he,  he,  he/'  accompanied  by  the 
clack  of  the  split  sticks  upon  the  palms  of  the  left  hands. 

The  signal  to  begin  is  given  by  the  tcelitu  with  a  motion  of  his 
quiver.  After  the  singing  of  what  might  be  termed  an  introductory 
verse,  he  signals  one  of  the  tilya  to  dance.  This  the  dancer  does  by 
suddenly  whirling  around  from  his  position  in  the  tunnel  and  moving 
very  rapidly  with  high  steps  back  and  forth  between  the  two  side  posts 
nearest  the  door  (fig.  3,  MN).  He  dances  in  a  bent  posture  with  his 
stick  rattles  extended  before  him  and  crossed  lightly  near  their  free 
ends.  Thus,  the  lower  half  of  the  upper  and  the  upper  half  of  the 
lower  rattle  form  the  bases  upon  which  the  other  halves  of  the  rattles 
strike  in  their  vibrations.  They  are  shaken  at  frequent  intervals,  the 
dancer  usually  squatting  very  low  as  he  rattles.  As  he  reaches  either 
end  of  his  short  course,  he  squats  low  and  whirls  suddenly  about  and 
dances  rapidly  to  the  opposite  end.  His  long  yellowhammer  streamers 
are  thus  thrown  out  and  float  and  flutter  behind  him  as  he  moves  from 
end  to  end.  At  the  same  time  he  shakes  his  head  from  side  to  side 
in  time  with  the  music  to  keep  the  long  plumes  of  his  head-dress 
trembling,  especially  when  he  rattles. 

The  tcelitu  meanwhile  stands  at  the  back  of  the  dance  house,  near 
the  singers,  arid,  when  he  deems  it  proper,  gives  the  signal  for  the 
change  in  the  dance.  This  he  does  by  running  up  to  the  singers  with 
his  " quiver"  high  in  the  air  and  bringing  it  suddenly  down  with  a 
loud  and  long  "hlyo,"  the  chorus  singers  bowing  and  shouting  in 
unison  with  him.  The  air  singers,  however,  continue  their  melody 
uninterruptedly,  and  the  chorus  is  immediately  taken  up  again.  The 


1919]  Barrett:  The  Wintun  Hesi  Ceremony  449 

tcelitu  then  dances,  with  the  high  rapid  step  already  mentioned,  back 
and  forth  directly  in  front  of  the  singers'  space  (fig.  3,  XY)  for  a  few 
minutes,  after  which  he  runs  rapidly  to  the  singers  and  shouts  "Myo" 
one  or  more  times,  bringing  his  quiver  down  and  bending  his  body  as 
before.  Most  frequently  he  gives  this  signal  as  "hiyo,  lilyo,  My 6, 
hiyo,"  the  last  utterances  being  longest  and  most  emphatic.  Again 
the  chorus  singers  shout  in  unison  with  him,  all  facing  the  air  singers. 
The  latter  still  continue  their  air  and  are  again  rejoined  by  the  chorus 
as  the  tcelitu  resumes  his  dance,  which  he  does  for  some  minutes  over 
the  same  course  as  before.  After  this  he  moves  out  along  the  north 
side  of  the  dance  house  (fig.  3,  xz),  beckoning  with  his  quiver  toward 
the  tuya,  who  all  this  time  has  been  dancing  rapidly  back  and  forth 
over  his  course  between  the  two  front  side  posts  of  the  house. 


Figure  3 

I  Wintun  visitors  from  Indian  creek  and  Little  Stony  creek. 
II  Porno  visitors  from  Sulphur  Bank. 

III  Wintun  visitors  from  Long  valley  and  Cache  Creek. 

IV  Wintun  visitors  from  the  Sacramento  river  region. 
V  Host  villagers. 

D  Drummers. 
A    Air    singers. 

x  Burden  singers. 
B  Fire  tender. 

C  Moki  delivering  ceremonial  speeches. 

Now  the  tuya  moves  out  along  the  north  side  of  the  dance  house 
(fig.  3,  MZ),  until  he  meets  the  tcelitu  at  z  nearly  opposite  the  fire. 
Here  the  two  turn  to  face  the  fire  and  dance  in  place  for  a  considerable 
time,  this  dance  consisting  simply  of  a  rapid  and  forceful  stamping  of 
first  one  foot  and  then  the  other,  the  bodies  being  held  erect.  The 
chorus  increases  the  volume  of  its  shouts,  and  the  drummer  beats 


450  University  of  California  Publications  in  Am.  Arch,  and  Ethn.      [Vol.  14 

harder.  This  loud  music  continues  until  suddenly  the  tcelitu  wheels 
about  and  runs  to  the  singers  with  the  same  motion  and  cry  of  hlyo 
as  before,  the  tuya  also  wheeling  about,  running  to  his  place  between 
the  two  front  posts,  and  resuming  his  former  dance. 

From  this  point  on  the  same  cycle  is  performed,  except  that  upon 
this  occasion  the  director  finally  dances  to  the  south  side  and  is  met 
by  the  tuya,  the  two  dancing  there  as  before  on  the  north  side.  Finally 
the  tcelitu  again  wheels  suddenly,  and  runs  to  the  singers  with  his 
usual  cry  of  "hlyo,"  and  calls  "ha,  ha,  ha,  ha,  ha,  ha,"  letting  his 
voice  fall  gradually.  This  marks  the  end  of  this  particular  set  of 
the  dance. 

The  tuya  immediately  resumes  his  stooping  posture  in  the  entrance 
tunnel,  from  which  presently  he,  or  one  of  his  fellows,  may  be  called 
forth  to  dance  the  same  set  over  again,  or  from  which,  if  the  dance  is 
to  be  ended,  he  may  be  summoned,  either  by  the  tcelitu' s  voice  or  by 
a  tap  on  his  back  by  the  quiver,  to  return  into  the  main  part  of  the 
dance  house. 

In  the  case  of  the  dance  ending,  he  backs,  in  his  stooping  posture, 
into  the  house  until  he  reaches  a  point  between  the  first  two  side  posts, 
when  he  straightens  up  and  walks  at  a  medium  pace  to  a  point  north 
of  the  center  post.  Here  he  whirls,  rattling,  walks  to  the  correspond 
ing  position  south  of  the  center  pole,  whirls  and  shakes  his  rattles 
again.  Then  he  walks  out  the  front  door  and,  once  outside,  runs  to 
the  dressing  place,  which  at  night  is  near  by,  but  in  the  day  is  in 
the  brush  far  enough  from  the  dance  house  to  be  out  of  sight.  In  pass 
ing  out,  he  lays  his  rattles  over  his  head  to  press  down  the  long  plumes, 
so  that  they  may  not  catch  on  the  sides  of  the  tunnel  and  break  off. 
In  entering  he  also  backs  in,  since  the  plumes  project  forward. 

Only  one  of  the  tuya  dances  at  a  time,  and  usually  each  performs 
but  once  in  any  one  dance,  going  through  the  above  described  set  or 
cycle  completely.  This  requires  from  fifteen  to  twenty  minutes.  If 
there  are  several  fuya,  the  second  is  usually  called  by  the  tcelitu  im 
mediately  after  the  first  has  returned  to  the  tunnel,  and  so  on  until 
each  of  them  has  completed  his  set.  When  touched  by  the  tcelitu' s 
quiver,  they  leave  the  dance  house  as  described  above,  but  the  song 
is  kept  up. 

As  soon  as  the  tuya  have  passed  out,  the  chorus  singers  and  the 
tcelitu  dance  out,  with  a  short,  high,  sidewise  step,  in  two  lines,  one 
along  the  north  and  one  along  the  south  side  of  the  house.  The  step 
consists  in  simply  lifting  the  feet  very  high  and  bringing  them  down 
with  force,  and  in  no  case  does  such  a  step  move  a  dancer  more  than 


1919]  Barrett:  Tlie  Wintun  Hesi  Ceremony  451 

six  or  eight  inches.  Having  finally  reached  a  point  opposite  the  fire 
and  center  post,  the  two  lines,  facing  each  other,  dance  in  place  for 
perhaps  a  minute  or  two,  using  the  same  step  but  without  the  side- 
wise  progression.  Suddenly,  the  tcelitu  runs  rapidly  to  the  air  singers, 
who  are  still  singing  in  front  of  the  drum,  raises  his  quiver,  and  brings 
it  down  violently  with  his  usual  cry  of  "hiyo,"  to  mark  the  ending. 
Throughout  this  dance,  the  air  singers  are  accompanied  only  by  a  low 
"he,  lie,  he,"  of  the  dancing  chorus. 

The  tcelitu  immediately  runs  back  to  his  position  in  one  or  the 
other  of  the  lines  of  dancing  chorus  singers  and  the  dance  continues. 
In  fact,  the  chorus  has  not  ceased  dancing  during  the  time  he  has  been 
running  back  and  forth.  After  another  minute  or  two,  they  all  start, 
at  a  signal  from  the  tcelitu,  to  dance  back  sidewise  toward  the  drum. 
When  about  half  way,  they  suddenly  break  and  run  to  a  position  in 
front  of  the  air  singers,  where  they  all  shout  "hlyo,"  bending  their 
bodies  almost  double.  This  marks  the  end  of  the  dance  and  the  music 
ceases.  The  tcelitu  walks  out  leisurely. 

At  frequent  intervals  during  all  this  dancing,  the  spectators  cry  a 
prolonged  "o!"  to  signify  their  approval  of  the  dance.  At  the  very 
end  they  all  call  "o!"  loudly  at  least  once,  and  some  repeat  the  cry 
several  times,  proportionate  to  their  satisfaction. 

One  of  these  dances  lasts  usually  from  twenty  minutes  to  half  an 
hour  or  considerably  more,  its  duration  depending  chiefly  on  the  num 
ber  of  tuya  participating.  The  motions  are  violent,  and  a  dancer  is 
usually  more  or  less  exhausted  at  the  end  of  his  set,  and  cannot  con 
tinue  throughout  the  night.  At  the  present  time,  when  the  population 
is  reduced,  and  dancers  few,  a  considerable  intermission  between  one 
dance  and  the  next  is  therefore  necessary.  Anciently,  however,  several 
sets  of  tuya,  each  with  its  tcelitu,  are  said  to  have  been  available,  so 
that  as  one  set  finished,  another  was  ready  to  take  its  place.  Thus  the 
dance  was  kept  up  almost  continuously  throughout  night  and  day, 
intermissions  for  feasts  being  ordinarily  the  only  breaks  in  the  con 
tinuity  of  the  dances.  The  first  tuya  dance,  on  May  5,  having  three 
tuya  and  a  tcelitu,  lasted  about  an  hour. 

THE  MOKI  DANCE 

At  the  conclusion  of  the  tuya,  the  director  put  on  his  long  cloak, 
thus  becoming  mokl  and,  as  the  dancers  left,  commenced  the  first  of 
his  ceremonial  orations.  He  danced  four  times  around  the  inside  of 
the  house,  constantly  blowing  his  double  whistle,  and  finally  halted 


452  University  of  California  Publications  in  Am.  Arch,  and  Ethn.      [Vol.  14 

near  the  rear  of  the  dance  house  opposite  the  koimeru  or  fire  tender. 
The  positions  of  the  two  are  shown  in  figure  3,  c,  B.  Here  he  delivered 
a  long  speech  in  a  high-keyed,  squeaky  voice,  occasionally  bowing  for 
ward  or  to  the  sides  or  settling  slightly  downward  under  his  cloak, 
these  motions  being  for  emphasis  and  apparently  in  lieu  of  gestures 
with  the  hands,  which  are  the  ordinary  Wintun  means  of  emphasizing 
speech.  This  oration  was  intended  for  all,  but  was  addressed  to  the 
fire  tender,  who  frequently  cried  "6!"  in  approval.  On  completing 
his  oration,  the  mokl  circled  around  the  inside  of  the  dance  house  once 
and  finally  went  to  a  place  near  the  drum  and  removed  his  long  cloak. 

Moki,  as  the  director  is  called  when  covered  by  his  long  cloak  and 
speaking  in  his  high  voice,  is  the  same  term  as  is  used  to  designate  a 
class  of  clowns,  who  in  certain  parts  of  the  ceremony  amuse  themselves 
and  the  spectators  by  mimicking  dancers,  singers,  drummers,  and 
spectators. 

The  mokl,  in  modern  times,  represents  a  messenger  from  the  keeper 
of  the  abode  of  the  dead,  delivering  his  messages  and  instructing  the 
people  in  order  that  they  may  be  provided  with  an  abundance  of  food, 
the  supply  of  which  depends  upon  their  conduct.  He  also  addresses 
himself  to  the  keeper  of  the  dead  and  pleads,  as  it  were,  the  cause  of 
his  people.  It  could  not  be  found  that  he  represented  a  mythical 
being. 

After  the  moki's  first  speech,  an  intermission  of  about  an  hour 
followed.  The  spectators  engaged  in  conversation  most  of  the  time. 


ORATION 

Then,  a  number  of  visitors  having  arrived,  the  director  rose  and, 
this  time  without  his  mokl  cloak,  delivered  another  oration — a  speech 
of  welcome.  This  he  subsequently  spoke  into  a  phonograph,  as  follows : 

Tabat  te'wi,  Speech  of  Welcome^ 


6               o               piuru16               boti 

Yes,            yes.               All                           stay. 

plum 
All 

piuru 
all 

bote 

stay, 

colec 
listen 

milet 
you 

lomule 

glad, 

apatcu 
my  uncles, 

bum 

maiin 
chief's  wives  or  sisters, 

bum 

sektd 
chiefs, 

ma 

ilaiinma 
my  children. 

piuru 
All 

bote            eu 
stay                thus, 

pi            bo 

tcu 

I 

eu            pi 
thus, 

is  Record   14-1518.      Transcribed   by  the  author   and   translated   by   Salvador 
and  Frank  Wright. 

is  Piuru,  said  to  be  an  esoteric  term  signifying  "all,"  awe  in  ordinary  speech. 


1919] 


Barrett:  The  Wintun  Hesi  Ceremony 


453 


bo 


•ete 
one 

milet 
You 

nat 

me 

dihuse 
wake  up, 

bote 

stay, 


tcu 

I 


eu 
thus, 

tewe 
word 


lomuro 
glad 


bo 
bum 


apatcuba 

my  uncles. 


him 


ma 


tcu 

I 


dihuse 
wake  up, 


tcu 

I 


O 

yes 


pitara 


bote 

stay, 


huya 
feast 


piuru 
all 

tewe 
words. 


eu 

this 


bote 

stay 


keweLa 
house-in, 

colec 

listen 


eu 

this 


tcu 

I 

pampa 
two 


eu 
thus, 

tewe 
words. 


bo 
si 


nat 
Me 


pitara 


hun 
tara 

oii 

yes 


loiba 

girls 

•dihuse 
Wake  up, 

pitara 


eu 
this 

waleLa 
floor-on 


bu 


piLa 
there  in 


wei 

Thanks  1 


piuru 
all 


colec 

listen 


eu 
This 

bote 

stay 

manu 
my 


poi 
Who 


eleLao 
none 


eleLao 
none 


po 

who 


sektun 
chiefs, 


pomi 


let 


eleLad 
none 


maino 

chief's  wives, 


piuti 
will  do  that 


put! 


urbe17 
Nothing 


win 
people 


liptura 
dying, 


win 

people 


hatara 

going, 


piLa 
there 

we 

things 


euLa 
then 


pe 


upiretfi 

everybody, 


O 

yes 


pele 


north 
ina 


piutara 
thus 

bote 
remain 

lomura19 
glad, 

main 

chief's  wives 


no 
go 

tibo 
bo 


eu 

this 

ibo 


piLa 
there 

upiretfi 
everybody, 

wilak 
world 


euLa 
there 


boti 
be, 


piLa 
here 


pele 

we 


bo' 

stay, 


ewiLa 
there 

nomel18 
west 

piutara 

Thus 

pele 
we 

elecii 
nothing 


east 
tibo 


boti 
be 

piu 
thus 


upura 
(I)  tell 


milet 
you 


cektu 
chiefs 


ma 


we 
things 


O 

yes 

wilak 
world 

tibo 


euLa 
there 


upiris 
everybody, 

Labe 

villages, 

euLa 

there 

won  s 

south 


we 
things 

boti 
remain, 


lomura 
glad, 


milet 
you 


milet 
you, 

lomura 
glad, 

seribama 
boys 


eu 
this 

milet 
you 

milet 

you 

lomura 
glad, 


^ 17  Urle    means    "nothing"    in    the    Central    Wintun    dialect.      Southwestern 
Wintun  says  elec. 

is  Pui'be,  waibe,  nombe,  woribe,  east,  north,  west,  south. 

glad";  oupiri  boli  "glad"  in  ceremonial  speech. 


454 


University  of  California  Publications  in  Am.  Arch,  and  Ethn.      [Vol.  14 


we                      upireti20                      5 
"thanks"         tell  one  another,               "Yes" 

upireti 
tell  one  another 

o                       upiri 
"Yes"      tell  one  another 

sa                pele 

We, 

pele                 ou 

we                       "Yes" 

piresa 

say 

uputo                 upura 
tell  you,                 tell 

momupireta21                upura                cok22 
everybody,                             tell 

pilit  a 

hetcama               pele 
how  many                   we 

eiisai                   pmsa 
do  that,                   do  that, 

pele 
we 

pmsa 
do  that 

piuLa                    pelepo 
we  ourselves 

loitano                eleLau 
girls  themselves     none 

po                seri                tana 
who                boys                  dance, 

eleLau                pi 
none                   these 

temano                    eleLau 
dancers  themselves    none 

Pi 
this 

yohos23 
announcer, 

ne                   eleLau 
none 

pi                          Lupi 
this                       tuya 

tono 
dancers 

eleLau2  4 
none 

piusa                     pele 
do  that,                      we 

piusa                   6u 
do  that,                   yes 

sa               '  pele 

we 

OU 

pe^ara                   we 
"thanks" 

upitara                   Lan 
call  one  another,    "brothers, 

upitara                     te 
sisters"     call  one  another,          "sons" 

upitara                     o 
call  one  another,          yes 

tai                            o 
"nephews,  nieces,"  yes 

tai 
"nephews,  nieces" 

upireti 
call  one  another, 

upireti 
call  one  another. 

SECOND  TUYA  DANCE 

About  midnight,  came  another  tuya  with  his  director,  and  a  second 
dance  was  held  in  exactly  the  same  manner  as  that  previously  de 
scribed.  This  ended  about  half  past  twelve.  The  people  remained  to 
talk  and  amuse  themselves  in  the  dance  house  during  the  remainder 
of  the  night  or,  as  they  chose,  went  to  their  houses  to  rest  before  the 
ceremonies  of  the  following  day. 


SECOND  DAY 

SWEAT  DANCE 

A  little  before  sunrise,  several  men,  particularly  those  who  had 
participated  in  the  dances  of  the  night  before,  gathered  in  the  dance 
house  for  the  "fire"  or  "sweat"  dance,  called  t cuppa.  A  very  hot 
fire  was  built  and  the  doors  and  smoke  hole  tightly  closed.  The 


2<>  Upireti,  upirita,  and  tipirita  are  said  to  be  esoteric  terms  meaning  ' '  tell  one 
another, ' '  pirti  signifying  ' l  each  other ' '  in  common  speech. 

21  Momupireta  is  an  esoteric  term  for  tcaTcet,  ' '  everybody. ' ' 

22  Upura  is  a  ceremonial  term,  while  cok  or  cdko  has  the  same  signification  in 
common  speech. 

23  The  yohos  is  the  announcer  who  delivers  an  oration  from  the  roof  of  the 
dance  house  as  visitors  approach  the  village. 

24  I.e.,  the  yohos  is  not  here,  nor  are  the  tuya. 


1919]  Barrett:  The  Wintun  Hesi  Ceremony  455 

dancers  stripped  themselves  of  all  clothing  except  an  improvised  clout 
and  danced  slowly  about  the  fire  in  time  to  the  song  and  rattle  of  a 
single  singer.  Their  motions  were  very  slow  and  the  feet  raised  but 
little  off  the  ground.  The  body  was  swung  from  side  to  side  con 
siderably,  so  that  at  each  step  a  different  part  of  the  body  was  pre 
sented  to  the  heat.  The  dancers  also  bent  over  the  fire  first  forward 
and  then  sidewise  in  such  manner  as  to  expose  themselves  to  the  heat, 
while  each  rubbed  his  body  rapidly.  At  the  end  of  perhaps  twenty 
minutes,  during  which  the  temperature  had  grown  intense,  the  dancers, 
now  in  profuse  perspiration,  rushed  out  and  plunged  into  the  creek. 
In  plate  2,  figure  1,  two  of  these  dancers  are  shown  returning  after 
their  plunge. 

RECEPTION  OF  VISITORS 

Nothing  else  took  place  until  the  entry  of  the  guests.  These  were 
Wintun  from  the  Sacramento  river,  largely  or  wholly  from  Grimes; 
from  three  villages  along  North  Cache  creek  and  Long  Valley  creek; 
and  from  three  villages  along  Indian  and  Little  Stony  creeks  to  the 
north.  The  only  people  other  than  Wintun  who  came,  were  a  few 
Porno  from  Sulphur  Bank  or  East  Lake,  one  of  the  arms  of  Clear 
Lake,  who  are  more  or  less  in  touch  with  the  Wintun  living  along 
North  Cache  creek. 

All  the  visitors  had  arrived  the  evening  before  and  made  their 
camps  at  short  distances  from  the  village.  Those  from  the  west  and 
north  camped  a  short  distance  northwest  of  the  village,  while  those 
coming  from  the  Sacramento  river,  camped  to  the  east. 

About  half  past  eight,  the  director  went  on  the  roof  of  the  dance 
house  and  gave  his  long  cry  "he"  to  the  four  cardinal  points,  to  call 
in  the  visitors.  It  is  doubtful  whether  this  cry  could  have  been 
heard,  but  at  any  rate  in  a  short  time  those  camped  to  the  northwest 
came  in  sight.  Meanwhile  the  "captain,"  as  he  is  called,  that  is,  the 
chief  of  the  host  village,  the  one  who  exercises  whatever  there  are  of 
gubernatorial  functions,  joined  the  director  on  the  roof  of  the  dance 
house.  He  took  his  station  just  below  the  smoke  hole  and  sang  for  a 
considerable  time,  accompanying  with  two  cocoon  rattles.  When  the 
visitors  from  the  northwest  appeared,  the  director  gave  several  of 
his  long-drawn  cries  of  "he"  toward  them.  The  "captain"  continued 
his  song.  On  arriving  at  the  outer  edge  of  the  settlement,  the  visitors 
halted,  left  their  horses  and  traveling  equipage,  and  advanced  toward 
the  dance  house,  the  inhabitants  of  each  visiting  village  forming  in 


456  University  of  California  Publications  in  Am.  Arch,  and  Ethn.      [Vol.  14 

single  file,  each  group  led  by  its  captain  who  carried  a  present  from 
them  to  the  people  of  Let,  the  host  village.  These  lines  coming  one 
after  another  formed  a  long  continuous  file  of  people  with  only  slight 
breaks  between  the  successive  groups.  The  captain  of  the  host  village 
continued  to  sing  on  top  of  the  dance  house  (pi.  2,  fig.  2)  until  the 
head  of  the  column  neared  the  entrance,  when  he  descended  and  led 
the  way,  still  singing,  into  the  dance  house.  He  led  the  column  contra- 
clockwise  around  the  fire  and  center  pole,  and  finally  took  up  his 
station  near  the  drum,  the  visitors  going  directly  to  the  particular 
portion  of  the  spectators'  areas  allotted  them  at  the  side  of  the  dance 
house.  As  each  column  filed  past  the  singing  captain,  its  leader 
stopped  and  presented  him  with  the  gift  brought  by  his  people  for 
those  of  the  village  giving  the  ceremony.  These  gifts  the  host  captain 
placed  near  the  wall  behind  the  drum  where  most  of  the  dancing 
paraphernalia  were  kept.  The  presents  consisted  usually  of  strings 
of  beads,  though  sometimes  ropes  of  native  milkweed  fiber  or  other 
objects  were  brought. 

The  last  of  the  column  was  a  very  old  shaman  or  dance  leader 
from  the  village  of  Toktl  on  North  Cache  creek.  He  came  at  some 
little  distance  from  the  rest  and  instead  of  going  directly  with  his 
people  to  the  side  of  the  dance  house,  he  moved,  singing  and  rattling 
with  cocoons,  four  times  contra-clockwise  around  the  inside  of  the 
house  and  then  once  in  the  same  direction  about  the  center  pole  alone, 
before  seating  himself  with  his  companions. 

At  last,  all  visitors  being  seated,  the  host  captain  brought  in  a 
large  basket  full  of  acorn  soup,  ylwit,  and  a  large  cake  of  black  meal, 
hule,  made  from  the  seeds  of  one  of  the  wild  plants  of  the  region. 
These  he  presented  to  the  leader  of  the  visitors,  who  saw  to  it  that 
each  one  received  his  share. 

The  host  captain  then  rejoined  the  director  on  the  roof  of  the  dance 
house,  there  to  await  the  arrival  of  the  people  from  the  Sacramento 
river.  Presently  shouting  was  heard  from  behind  a  hill  to  the  south 
east,  which  was  a  signal  that  the  visitors  were  on  their  way  from  that 
quarter,  and  also  that  they  were  dancing  into  the  village  instead  of 
filing  in  like  their  predecessors.  Upon  hearing  the  shouts  the  director 
gave  his  usual  long  "he,"  and  the  captain  began  to  sing  again.  Pre 
sently  a  tuya  dancer,  followed  at  a  little  distance  by  his  tcelitu,  came 
over  the  brow  of  the  hill  toward  the  village,  followed  at  some  distance 
by  their  captain  and  the  remainder  of  the  people  walking  slowly  in 
single  file. 


1919]  Barrett:  The  Wintun  Hesi  Ceremony  457 

TUYA  DANCE 

On  arriving  at  the  door,  the  two  dancers  conducted  themselves  as 
is  customary.  The  tuya  stopped  before  the  door  and  shook  his  rattle 
several  times.  The  tcelltu,  however,  did  not  immediately  enter,  as  is 
the  custom  in  an  ordinary  dance,  but  also  waited  without  until  the 
last  of  the  visitors  from  his  region  had  been  led  in  and  properly  placed 
and  provided  with  food  by  the  captain  of  the  host  village.  The  singers 
then  assembled  before  the  drum,  the  tcelltu  entered,  and  the  dancing 
proceeded  as  on  the  evening  before. 

CLOWNS 

With  this  dance  was  introduced  a  new  feature.  As  the  dance 
progressed,  several  men,  apparently  without  any  special  dress  or 
preparations,  went  about  in  the  dance  house  speaking  in  a  very  high- 
keyed  voice,  similar  to  that  of  the  director  when  he  becomes  moki. 
They  made  all  manner  of  fun  of  the  dancers,  the  singers,  the  drum 
mers,  and  any  of  the  spectators  that  they  might  single  out.  These 
clowns  are  also  called  mokl.  As  above  stated,  however,  it  is  main 
tained  by  the  Indians  that  the  office  of  these  clowns  is  purely  that  of 
amusing  the  people. 

The  antics  which  these  clowns  perform  are  sometimes  genuinely 
ludicrous.  For  instance,  at  one  time  later  in  the  day,  when  the  captain 
of  the  host  village  was  singing  as  he  marched  slowly  about  the  inside 
of  the  dance  house,  one  of  the  clowns  stationed  himself  before  the 
captain  and  marched  slowly  backwards  in  step  with  him,  while  deliver 
ing  joking  remarks  concerning  the  latter 's  ability  to  sing  and  the 
particular  song  he  was  voicing,  and  in  general  endeavoring  to  give  a 
comical  turn  to  what  otherwise  would  have  been  a  most  solemn  cere 
mony.  This  did  not  seem  in  the  least  to  disconcert  the  singer,  who 
continued  to  sing  in  his  gravest  manner ;  but  his  song  was  not  received 
with  the  usual  seriousness. 

These  clowns  enter  into  ceremonies  among  the  Porno  to  the  west, 
where  they  are  called  (by  the  Eastern  Porno),  katsa'tala24:a  and  act 
much  as  here  described,  although  the  Hesi  ceremony  is  not  known. 
The  Maidu  clown  is  called  peheipe.2* 

The  dance  having  been  completed,  the  captain  caused  to  be  brought 
in  several  baskets  of  acorn  soup  and  an  abundance  of  other  food,  and 
all  feasted  in  the  dance  house. 


24»  Sergeants-at-arms,  fine  collectors,  and  clowns.  Present  series  xn,  417-421, 
1917. 

25  E.  B.  Dixon,  The  Northern  Maidu,  Bull.  Am.  Mus.  Nat.  Hist.,  xvn,  286, 
310,  315,  318,  1905. 


458  University  of  California  Publications  in  Am.  Arch,  and  Etlin.      [Vol.  14 

ALLOTMENT  OF  DANCE  HOUSE  PLACES 

The  parts  of  the  dance  house  (Lut)  used  for  special  purposes  were 
in  this  ceremony  as  follows.  The  portion  of  the  floor  (wole)  within 
the  line  of  side  posts  was  reserved  for  the  dancers  and  singers,  the 
singers  occupying  the  space  in  the  rear  and  immediately  in  front  of 
the  drum.  Different  dances  were  held  in  several  parts  of  the  floor  as 
described  previously  and  below.  The  space  back  of  the  side  posts 
(dorl)  was  divided  into  five  sections  of  varying  sizes,  each  allotted  to 
the  spectators  from  a  certain  place.  In  figure  3  are  shown  these  five 
divisions. 

SINGING  BY  INVITED  INDIVIDUALS 

After  the  feast  held  in  the  dance  house,  the  people  gave  themselves 
over  to  conversation  and  visiting  for  some  time,  while  the  clowns  con 
tinued  their  business  to  the  amusement  of  all.  Finally  the  individual 
singing  began,  partly,  at  any  rate,  as  a  result  of  the  clowns'  actions. 
They  are  privileged  to  levy  a  fine  on  one  who  does  anything  contrary 
to  custom,  and  especially  upon  those  who  show  displeasure  at  their 
ridicule  or  refuse  to  do  their  bidding.  When,  therefore,  they  ask  some 
one  to  sing,  he  must  accede  or  pay  a  fine.  It  is  said  that  nearly  all 
individual  singing  is  due  to  the  commands  of  the  clowns. 

A  singer  provides  himself  with  two  short  cocoon  rattles  which  he 
uses  one  in  each  hand.  They  are  grasped  firmly  between  the  thumb 
and  first  finger  and  are  shaken  by  means  of  a  movement  of  the  wrist. 
Another  movement  is  given  them  by  means  of  the  second,  third  and 
fourth  fingers,  which  tap  upon  the  handle  as  it  projects  down  into 
the  hand.  The  invited  performer  sings  for  some  minutes  wherever  he 
happens  to  be  sitting,  then  rises  and  walks  to  a  position  on  the  south 
side  of  the  dancing  area  and  a  little  back  of  the  center  pole  (fig.  3,  Y). 
Here  he  sings  for  some  minutes,  pacing  back  and  forth  in  one  direction 
or  another  over  a  short  course.  He  then  walks  rapidly  over  to  the 
point  marked  N  in  figure  3,  where  he  again  sings  for  some  time ;  then 
goes  to  M  and  sings  for  some  minutes;  then  to  X,  and  finally  to  Y 
again,  singing  at  each  of  these  stations  as  described.  He  then  either 
goes  directly  to  his  seat,  or  repeats  the  cycle.  In  any  case,  when  he 
arrives  at  his  seat  he  turns  completely  around  before  sitting  down, 
after  which  he  continues  singing  for  some  minutes. 

While  this  is  the  commonest  method,  some  singers  go  round  and 
round  the  dancing  area  counter-clockwise,  moving  continually  with 
a  slow  step  and  not  stopping  at  the  four  points  above  mentioned. 


1919]  Barrett:  The  Wintun  Hesi  Ceremony  459 

When  a  singer  begins,  a  loud  shout  goes  up,  each  person  in  the 
house  shouting  "6."  When  he  arises,  a  still  louder  chorus  of  the  same 
indication  of  approval  is  heard ;  and  at  frequent  intervals  during  the 
song  similar  shouts  from  one  or  more  people  in  different  parts  of  the 
house  are  audible.  On  taking  his  seat,  he  is  greeted  again,  and  on  the 
ending  of  his  song,  he  receives  the  loudest  applause  of  all. 

Any  one  may  be  asked  by  the  clowns  to  sing  and  is  expected  to 
respond.  But  in  practice  only  men  known  to  be  proficient  singers 
are  called  upon.  Their  songs  are  said  to  be  private  and  more  or  less 
hereditary  from  father  to  son.  It  is  asserted  that  such  songs  are  not 
and  were  not  formerly  learned  from  the  inhabitants  of  the  ghost 
world  or  the  keeper  Katit,  though  the  latter  teaches  other  songs.  The 
individual  or  private  songs  show  some  variety.  Three  examples  fol 
low.  The  words  of  these  were  written  down  during  the  ceremony,  but 
it  proved  impossible  to  obtain  phonographic  records. 

Individual  Song  1 

holuu  du  hwee  holulu  du  hwii  (4  times) 

watohoona  wilak  mee  holo  wee  walei  heme  (4  times) 

haluu  du  hwei  haluu  du  heha  (4  times) 
(Eepeat) 

Individual  Song  2 

namn  he" 'hila  hihye  nanin  hen 'hila  hihye  (4  times) 

winii  hila  hehye  winTI  hila  hehye  (4  times) 

wilee  hila  hehye  wilee  hila  hehye  (4  times) 

wai  wai  hila  wewe  wai  wai  hila  wewe  (4  times) 
(Eepeat) 

Individual  Song  3 

haiie  waleiho  haiie  waleiho  (twice) 

wihwala  waleiho 

haiie  waleiho  haiie  waleih5  (twice) 

(Eepeat) 

It  will  be  seen  that  these  songs  are  simple.  Some  consist  merely 
of  a  phrase  or  two  repeated  a  definite  number  of  times,  usually  four. 
Often  this  set  is  repeated  over  and  over  again  throughout  the  song. 
In  more  elaborate  songs  the  first  set  or  "stanza"  of  a  four-times  re 
peated  phrase  is  followed  by  another  with  more  or  less  different  words, 
and  so  through  perhaps  three  or  four  stanzas,  after  which  the  whole 
group  of  stanzas  is  indefinitely  reiterated,  sometimes  for  half  an  hour 
or  longer.  It  is  maintained  that  the  words  have  no  meaning,  though 
now  and  then  a  word,  such  as  wilaU,  "world,"  is  recognizable.  It  is 
possible  that  more  of  these  words  may  at  one  time  have  had  meanings, 
but  that,  like  parts  of  the  speeches  of  the  mokl,  they  are  esoteric  or 
archaic.  In  the  speeches,  however,  only  some  of  the  terms  are  of  this 


460  University  of  California  Publications  in  Am.  Arch,  and  Ethn.      [Vol.  14 

nature,  and  the  bulk  of  the  orations  is  intelligible  to  the  "Wintun 
public.  However,  it  is  certain  that  in  both  songs  and  speeches  some 
at  least  of  the  terms  used  are  esoteric  and  have  meanings  definitely 
known  to  the  initiated. 


VISITORS'  TUYA  DANCE 

About  half  past  eleven,  two  of  the  visitors  from  the  Sacramento 
river,  a  tuya  and  a  tcelitu,  performed  the  second  dance  of  the  day, 
which  lasted  some  twenty  minutes. 

FEAST  ORATION 

After  this,  the  midday  feast  was  served  at  the  long  table  under  the 
trees  near  the  dance  house  (pi.  1,  fig.  4).  When  the  meal  was  ready, 
the  director  made  a  long  speech  of  welcome  exhorting  the  visitors  to 
eat  heartily  and  enjoy  themselves. 

Ba  Tcema,  Food  Speech2® 
o'u,  yes 

we'reti   (3),  come  on! 
we'reti,  come  on! 
lo'iba  we'reti  (2),  girls  come  on! 
se'riba  we'reti,  youths  come  on! 
i'lain  we'reti,  children  come  on! 
ba'La  huya'lis   (2),  at  eating  assembled 
e'u  ba'La,  at  this  eating 
e'u  ba'La  huya'lis,  at  this  eating  assembled 
e'u  kori'La  huya'lis,  at  this  pinole  assembled 
e'u  yiwi'La  huya'lis,  at  this  acorn-soup  assembled 
e'u  tipa'La  huya'lis,  at  this  acorn-bread  assembled 
mile'  o'upi'ni,  you  say  yes  to  one  another 
o'upini  (2),  say  yes  to  one  another 
pi'La  piu'roti,  will  be  doing  that 

ta'i  upi'reti,  will  (call  one  another)  sister's  child  (or  grandchild) 
pi  ba'La,  at  eating  that 

wile  ba'La  huya'ro,  at  healthy  eating  assemble 
pi  ba'La  huya'ro  e'u  ba'La  huya'ro,  at  eating  that  assemble,  at  eating  this 

assemble 

e'u  tca'lal  ba'La  huya'ro,  at  this  pleasant  eating  assemble 
e'u  wile  ba'La  huya'ro,  at  this  healthy  eating  assemble 
pi'La  o'u  u'pitaro  ba'ti,  at  that  say  yes  to  one  another 's  eating 
o'u  pitaro  ba'ti  (2),  say  yes  to  one  another's  eating 
we  yu'pini,  rejoice  at  one  another 
we  a'patcu  u'ro,  rejoice:    "my  mother's  brother" 


26  Eecord  14-1498,  Odock-Kroeber  transcription.  Each  line  of  the  text  repre 
sents  a  phrase  or  separate  ejaculation.  A  number  indicates  that  the  phrase  is 
repeated  so  many  times. 


1919]  Barrett:  The  Wintun  Hesi  Ceremony  461 

we  ta'tcu  u'ro,  rejoice:    "my  father" 

we    La'ntcu  u'ro,  rejoice:    "my  younger  brother" 

upu'taro  ba'ti,  say  thus  to  one  another's  eating 

weyu'ti,  rejoice 

mile't  ba'mahem,  (at)  him  who  causes  you  to  eat 

milet  do'ihem,  (at)  him  who  gives  to  you 

ba  do'ihem,  (at)  him  who  gives  food 

e  kori'  do'ihem,  who  gives  this  pinole 

e  tipa'  do'ihem,  who  gives  this  acorn-bread 

pi'La  lomu'ti,  at  that  be  glad 

pi'La  lomu'ti  pi,  at  that  be  glad 

piu  weyu'ro,  so  rejoice 

mile't  weyu'ro,  rejoice  for  you 

ta'itcu  ba'uro,  my  sister's  children  (eat?) 

La'ntcu  ba'uro,  my  younger  brothers  (eat?) 

pi'uro  ba'ti  (3),  doing  so  eat 

tap  mile'  ila'in,  you  children 

mile'  lo'iba,  mile  seri'ba,  you  girls,  you  youths 

mile'  ila'in,  you  children 

pi'uro  ba'ti,  so  eat 

^pi'uro  katu'les,  so  satisfied 

katu'ro  weyu'les,  satisfied  rejoice 

katu'ro  weyu'les,  satisfied  say  yes 

u'no  te'we,  his  word 

u'no  te'we  u'no  so'ko,  his  word,  his  teaching 

u'i  mile't  sokohem,  he  who  teaches  you 

pi'uro  ba'ti  (4),  so  eat! 

The  feasting  was  in  the  following  order.  First  were  served  the 
visitors  who  arrived  earliest  at  the  village,  that  is,  as  many  as  could 
be  seated  at  the  table,  the  remainder  eating  at  the  second  table.  Third 
came  the  visitors  who  had  arrived  later,  and  finally,  at  the  fourth  and 
last  table,  the  people  of  the  home  village  ate.  The  food  was  all  pre 
pared  by  the  women  of  the  village  in  their  houses  and  was  brought  to 
the  table  by  three  or  four  men.  In  general,  this  serving  of  food  was 
under  the  direction  of  the  fire  tender  of  the  dance  house. 


FURTHER  TUYA,  SWEAT,  AND  MOKI  DANCES 

Immediately  after  this  meal,  which  ended  about  two  o'clock,  a 
third  tuya  was  held  in  the  dance  house,  along  the  same  lines  as  those 
previously  described.  Later,  at  half  past  five,  a  fourth  dance  was 
made.  An  evening  feast  with  attendant  speeches  began  at  six. 

After  this  meal,  a  hot  fire  was  again  built  in  the  dance  house  and 
three  men,  who  had  participated  in  the  dancing  during  the  day,  danced 
another  fire  or  sweat  dance  to  the  music  of  the  two  singers.  Toward 
the  last  of  their  dance,  the  mokl  danced  once  around  the  floor,  then 


462 


University  of  California  Publications  in  Am.  Arch,  and  Etnn.      [Vol.  14 


outdoors,  and  several  times  around  the  high  pole  in  front  of  the  dance 
house,  the  while  blowing  his  whistle  constantly.  Soon  after  he  left 
the  dance  house  for  his  dance  about  the  pole,  the  three  dancers  ran 
out  to  the  creek,  swam  for  a  few  minutes,  and  returned  to  the  house. 
About  ten  o'clock,  the  first  tuya  dance  of  the  night  was  held,  being 
followed  before  morning  by  several  others,  all  about  the  same  as  those 
described. 

THIRD  DAY 

MORNING  DANCES 

About  five  in  the  morning  another  sweat  dance  was  held,  imme 
diately  after  which  the  mokl  danced,  as  before,  slowly  about  the  danc 
ing  floor  and  out  the  front  door,  and  then  performed  a  ceremony  about 
the  high  pole  (see  pi.  1,  fig.  3).  He  danced  about  the  pole  several 
times  in  a  sort  of  shambling  trot,  finally  coming  to  a  halt  on  its  east, 
that  is,  on  the  side  away  from  the  dance  house,  facing  this.  Here  he 
settled  slowly  down,  waving  his  cloak  with  his  hands,  until  he  had  come 
to  a  squatting  position,  where  he  remained  for  some  seconds  blowing 
his  whistle.  He  then  slowly  arose  with  the  same  fluttering  of  his  cloak, 
circled  the  pole,  and  again  settled  down,  this  time  facing  toward  the 
south,  he  being  on  the  north  side  of  the  pole.  This  circling  and  facing 
were  repeated  in  the  usual  sequence,  that  is,  east  and  finally  north. 
He  next  danced  over  to  the  table,  around  which  he  danced  four  times 
(pi.  1,  fig.  4),  after  which  he  danced  about  the  poles  at  the  east  end 
of  the  table.  Finally,  coming  to  a  stop  to  the  east  of  the  poles,  and 
facing  them  and  the  table,  he  settled  down  as  he  had  done  about  the 
high  pole  in  front  of  the  dance  house.  He  then  danced  around  to  the 
west  end  of  the  table  and  once  around  the  high  pole  there,  stopping 
to  face  it  from  the  west.  Here  he  again  settled,  after  which  he  danced 
back  into  the  dance  house,  passing  on  the  north  side,  or  contra-clock 
wise  along  the  dancing  floor,  to  the  drum  where,  as  usual,  he  removed 
his  cloak. 

About  half  past  six,  breakfast  was  served  at  the  long  table  in  the 
usual  manner  after  another  speech  by  the  director. 

SPEECHES  OF  INSTRUCTION 

About  half  past  nine,  the  director  took  up  a  position  in  front  of  the 
dance  house  and  near  the  high  pole  and  here  delivered  a  long  oration. 
This  oration,  as  also  those  that  followed  during  the  afternoon,  exhorted 
the  people  to  live  properly  and  in  accordance  with  the  instructions 


1919]  Barrett:  The  Wintun  Hesi  Ceremony  463 

recently  received  by  the  director  from  Katit.  These  instructions  were 
to  recount  to  them  the  history  of  the  world  and  outline  the  reasons 
why  it  was  in  its  present  condition ;  and  also  to  tell  its  future  and  the 
ultimate  destiny  of  mankind. 

From  a  summary  of  the  ideas  expressed  in  these  speeches,  as  ren 
dered  at  the  time  by  one  of  the  Indian  auditors,  it  appears  that  the 
conceptions  of  the  Wintun  in  respect  to  the  world  are  as  follows.27 
The  world  originally  had  a  different  form,  but  in  those  days  there 
were  comparatively  few  people.  Later,  as  its  population  increased, 
the  earth  was  stretched  to  accommodate  the  people  and  for  a  time  all 
things  went  satisfactorily.  Again  the  population  grew,  the  world  be 
came  crowded,  and  the  earth  was  stretched ;  thus  it  has  up  to  the  pre 
sent  time  been  enlarged  four  times.  The  last  time  its  form  was  mate 
rially  changed  and  the  present  mountains  were  created.  There  is  to  be 
a  fifth  and  final  upheaval  and  stretching,  which  will  bring  these  moun 
tains  down  and  render  the  world  a  level  plain  as  is  the  Wintun  abode 
of  the  dead.  To  be  sure,  the  Wintun  population  has,  since  the  coming 
of  the  whites,  greatly  decreased,  but  the  influx  of  Americans  has 
greatly  increased  the  population  of  the  region,  so  that  the  country  is 
very  crowded  at  present,  and  it  is  expected  that  this  final  great  world 
change  may  come  at  any  time.  When  the  earthquake  of  April  18,  1906, 
was  felt,  it  was  considered  part  of  this  final  upheaval,  and  especially 
was  the  belief  confirmed  when  the  Wintun  saw  the  effect  on  upper 
Cache  creek,  which  drains  Clear  lake.  Here  a  body  of  earth,  large 
enough  to  block  the  passage  of  the  stream,  slid  into  the  canyon,  back 
ing  the  water  up  into  the  lake  itself.  After  a  time  the  pressure  broke 
through  the  dam  and  carried  the  debris  down  in  a  great  flood  through 
Capay  and  the  other  valleys  along  the  lower  course  of  Cache  creek. 
The  stream  lies  but  a  few  miles  to  the  south  of  the  Cortina  valley 
village  and  the  flood  had  occurred  only  three  days  before,  so  that 
considerable  excitement  was  still  running  among  the  Indians  at  the 
time  the  director  was  preaching  to  them. 

Another  feature  which  had  recently  inspired  the  Wintun  of  the 
region  with  awe  was  the  immense  mass  of  smoke  which  was  visible  to 
them  from  the  San  Francisco  fire.  Some  said  that  at  night  even  the 
glare  of  the  fire  could  be  seen.  By  many  it  was  feared  that  this  was 
the  final  great  world  fire,  which,  in  common  with  the  other  Indians  of 
this  part  of  California,  they  anticipated. 


27  A  short  note  in  the  Journal  of  American  Folk-lore,  xix,  324-325,  1906,  gives 
the  substance  of  the  following  account. 


464  University  of  California  Publications  in  Am.  Arch,  and  Etlw.      [Vol.  14 

OTHER  MORNING  DANCE 

About  eleven  o'clock,  four  of  the  Sacramento  valley  men  danced 
again.  As  before  stated,  such  dancers  always  put  on  their  costumes 
out  of  sight  of  the  spectators.  They  usually  approach  dancing  in 
single  file  (see  pi.  2,  figs.  3  and  4).  Each  tuya,  upon  reaching  the  door 
squats  in  front  of  it  and  shakes  his  two  split  stick  rattles.  The  tcelltu 
goes  in  immediately  on  his  arrival,  and  when  all  is  ready  calls  in  the 
tuya. 

AFTERNOON  DANCES 

The  midday  feast  began  a  little  after  noon,  as  usual  preceded  by 
a  speech  from  the  director.  The  next  dance  was  made  by  four  men 
about  three  o'clock  in  the  afternoon. 

This  being  the  last  time  that  the  particular  dancers  participating 
were  to  appear,  a  purification  ceremony  immediately  followed  the 
dance  of  each. 

As  each  dancer  took  up  his  position  in  the  tunnel  of  the  dance 
house  after  completing  his  set  of  the  dance,  the  fire  tender  went  to  him 
and,  seizing  his  wrists,  lifted  his  hands  and  his  rattles  high  above  his 
head.  He  then  looked  the  dancer  carefully  over  from  head  to  foot  and 
finally,  letting  go  his  hands,  allowed  the  dancer's  arms  and  rattles  to 
fall  to  his  sides,  after  which  the  dancer  replaced  his  rattles  in  their 
former  crossed  position.  The  fire  tender  then,  commencing  at  the 
dancer's  feet,  blew  several  times  with  much  force  on  various  parts  of 
the  dancer's  body,  waving  his  hand  upward  with  each  blast,  and  end 
ing  with  a  long  blast  directed  so  as  to  spread  his  breath  over  the  whole 
body  of  the  dancer.  He  then  passed  around  to  his  back  and  again 
blew  in  the  same  manner.  Before  performing  this  ceremony,  the  fire 
tender  chewed  mitcil,  a  parasitic  plant  found  on  oaks,  probably  mistle 
toe  as  nearly  as  can  be  judged  from  its  description.  His  breath  being 
laden  with  the  sweet-scented  mitcil,  served  to  expel  from  the  dancer's 
body  any  spirit  or  evil  effect  of  a  spirit,  tcoyl,  which  if  unremoved 
would  cause  illness.  Having  blown  upon  a  dancer  in  this  manner,  the 
fire  tender  stepped  back  to  a  position  directly  in  front  of  the  fire,  that 
is,  between  the  fire  and  the  front  door,  and  there  raised  his  right  hand 
high  above  his  head  and  gave  a  long  cry  of  "he,"  dropping  his  hand 
and  lowering  his  voice  slowly  toward  the  last.  This  completed  the 
purification  ceremony  and  the  dancer  was  at  liberty  to  depart. 

Immediately  after  this  dance  and  the  purification  of  each  of  the 


1919] 


Barrett:  The  Wintun  Hesi  Ceremony 


465 


dancers,  the  director  again  delivered  an  oration,  the  latter  part  of 
which  was  cut  short  by  the  arrival  of  another  set  of  dancers  about  four 
o  'clock.  Their  dance  was  the  same  as  the  preceding,  and  was  followed 
by  the  same  purification  ceremony.  After  they  had  departed,  the 
director  proceeded  with  his  oration  for  perhaps  half  an  hour  longer. 


ORATIONS 

Several  of  the  formal  speeches  delivered  by  the  director  on  this 
afternoon  as  well  as  at  other  times  during  the  Hesi  were  subsequently 
recorded  as  follows : 


Bole  Ho, 

"Ghost  Yes"  Oration** 

ho 

yes, 

ho 

yes, 

urabote 
believe 

ho 

yes, 

urabote                   ho 

believe,                         yes, 

urabote                      ho 
believe,                            yes, 

urabote 
believe 

uyorihem 
what  taught 

uyorihem 
what  taught 

piuLa 
here 

pele 

we 

6u 

yes 

piribum                piu'La                pele 
tell,                            here                       we 

ou 
yes 

piribum 
tell 

wilak 

wilak                Lapa 

tfewe                 doibum 

world 

world                    all-over 

speech                 giving 

tcama 

win                    mutu                    kabec                    tcama 

win 

white 

people                   to  hear                       waiting,                      white 

people 

mutu                kabec 

to  hear                  waiting 

tdpi 

ma                paLeta 

topi                bole29                ma 

all 

save 

all                    ghosts 

topi 

pile                winibum 

topi                pile                winibum 

all 

they                   seeing, 

all                       they                  seeing 

pile! 

they 

manan                  pile 
just  like                       they 

tonobum                   pile! 
dance,                             they 

manan 
just  like 

pile                 tonobum 

they                    dance 

ou 

La                 pile 

imanatibum                 6u                  La 

pile 

yes 

they 

will  be  the  same,                yes 

they 

imanatibum 

will  be  the  same 

pe 


him  bapa 

(they  will  not   assist) 


oubum 


28Eecord  14-1495. 

29  So  literally,  but  translated  as  "dreamer," 


doctor, "  or  "  dance  director. ' ' 


466 


University  of  California  Publications  in  Am.  Arch,  and  Etlin.      [Vol.  14 


pe 


pele 
we 

elel 
believe 

us 
this 

pele 

our 

piuLa 
sometimes 

piuLa 

sometimes 

yapai 
dance 

tcama 

white 


him  ba 

(they  will  not  do  it) 


lie 


winihem 

seers 

nanta 

not 

pelet  . 

to  us, 

tan 

father, 

pele 
we 

pele 
we 

mo 


win 

people 


ou 

yes 

elel 

not 


laiukahem 

goodness 

hem 
(people) 

mmte 

believe 


harabum 

will  go, 


bum 


elel 

believe 


nanta 
not 


us 
this 

pele 
our 


pelet 
to  us 


uleLa 
them 

uleLa 
them 

doitlbum 
will  give, 

ma 


oubum 

yes, 


tan 

father 

ka 


peibum 
(what  is  the  matter) 

ka  peibum 

(what  is  the  mattter) 


yapai 
dance 

doitlbum 
will  give 


harabum 

will  go 


ou 
yes 


hem 

(people) 


mo 

laiukaru 
good 


oubum 

yes 


doitlbum 
will  give 


wilak 
world 


nanteweie 
my  speech, 

iis 
this 


pelet 
to  us 


nanteweie 
my  speech 


US 

this 


pelet 
to  us 


plum 
all 


tewe 
speech 

pm 

what 


wilak 
world 


wilak 
world 


toyu 

stopped 


wilak 
world 


La 
on 


dldl 
villages 


La 


wilak 
world 


La 
on 


dldl 
villages 


La 

in 


werebem 

coming, 


tewe 
speech 


toyu 
stopped 


Lab  a 

doing 


ma 


pel 

show 

ulet 

them 


bole29 

ghost 

doitlbum30 
will  give ; 

manan 

just  like 

dolura 

give 


tcama 
white 


pei 
show 

yapai 
dance 

bebempu 
there 


win 

people 

manan 

just  like 

mato 

your, 


ton 
dance 


P1 

that 


pm 

what 


Laba 

doing? 


piuru 
all 


werebem 

coming 

yapai 
dance 

mato 

your, 

ma 


29  So  literally,  but  translated  as  "dreamer,"  " doctor,"  or  "dance  director." 

30  The   speaker  was  asking  a  colleague   or   rival,  Bulkas  by  name,   from  the 
Clear  Lake  region,  what  he  intended  to  do,  whether  he  intended  to  give  another 
dance  as  the  white  people  do. 


1919] 


Barrett:  The  Wintun  Hesi  Ceremony 


467. 


tcanaman                titcabum 
Chinaman                       will  know, 

wilakno                  Luturu 

world's                         trouble 

tcanaman                 titcabum 
Chinaman                        will  know 

werit 
coming 

pila 

titcatlbum 

tcanaman                     titcatlbum 

tcama 

They 

will 

know, 

Chinaman                         will  know, 

white 

win 

Leksum 

titcatibum                    tcama 

win 

people 

later 

will  know,                            white 

people 

titcatlbum 

will  know 

pal 

pile 

tewe 

titca-mata                   doibum 

tono 

now 

we 

speech,                   let  them  know                  will  give 

dance 

doibum 

yalumas 

paruru                win               win 

antara 

will  give 

leave 

crowded                 people             people 

many 

piuru 

tcu 

Lahis 

for  that 

I 

look 

wilak 

tcu 

Lahis 

wilak              tcu              Lahis 

wilak 

world 

I 

look, 

world                   I                      look, 

world 

tcu 

Lahis 

I 

look. 

tcu 

mit 

pmLa                    tcu                    mit 

mutmaton 

I 

you 

sometimes                I                            you 

will  tell, 

comara 

mit 

heLa              tfepiti              olel              pitc 

wilak 

let  know 

you 

somewhere      go  out                above, 

world 

henpa 

La 

olel                   tepiti                   piLa 

heLa 

find 

in 

above                     go,                             there 

somewhere 

henpa 

La 

henpa                 La                 waiyel 

henpa 

find 

in 

find                           in                       north 

find 

La 

nowina 

henpa                   ti                   piunpi 

tcu 

in 

west 

find,                                                   thus 

I 

Lahibo 

pmn 

tcu                  Lahie               un 

piuLai 

look, 

thus 

I                        look, 

there 

pinai 

wilak 

botcitisi 

do  this 

world 

break  down 

nai 

henpa 

La 

un               nai               henpa 

La           un 

I 

find 

in 

I                        find 

in 

wilak 

botclti 

world 

break  down 

unica 

so  said 

Free  Paraphrase 

You  must  believe  what  he  has  taught  you.  Here  we  should  be  glad.  Give 
this  speech  to  all  the  people,  to  the  white  people  also  for  they  are  awaiting  it. 
Every  one  is  to  be  saved.  All  the  dreamers  see  that.  Just  like  them  (the 
ghosts)  we  dance. 


When  I  do  this  the  world  will  end. 


468 


University  of  California  Publications  in  Am.  Arch,  and  Ethn.      [Vol.  14 


Some  people  will  not  assist,  some  will  not  do  as  they  are  instructed.  Though 
our  father  (i.  e.,  ruler  of  the  ghost  world)  told  us  this,  we  see  that  some  people 
do  not  believe  it.  Sometimes  we  ask  what  the  reason  is. 

We  must  give  a  dance.  We  will  give  it  for  the  white  people  also.  It  is  for 
the  betterment  of  the  world  and  for  the  improvement  of  the  people. 

Yes,  some  people  do  not  believe  my  speech,  but  this  is  for  us,  for  all  the 
world  and  for  all  the  villages. 

What  are  you  going  to  do?  Do  you  intend  to  give  another  dance  as  the 
white  people  do? 

The  Chinese  know  that  the  world  is  coming  to  an  end,  and  the  white  people 
will  realize  this  after  a  while. 

Now  let  us  speak  that  all  may  know.  Let  us  dance.  The  world  is  crowded 
with  people.  That  is  the  reason  for  my  search.  I  call  you  all  to  let  you  know 
that  I  am  going  away  in  search  of  the  future  world.  I  do  not  know  just  where 
it  is,  but  know  I  shall  find  it  somewhere  above,  either  in  the  north  or  in  the 
west.  That  is  the  way  I  shall  look  about  and,  when  I  do,  the  world  will  come 
to  an  end. 

That  is  what  I  (the  seer)  said. 


o'u 

yes 

so'les 
listen 

pele't 

us 

mo'mhurobe' 
telling  us 


Another  Bole  Ho  Oration^ 


bo'ti 

stay, 

ti'ptarobe' 

telling 


so'les 
listen 


bo'ti 

stay, 


so'les 
listen 


bo'ti 
stay 


ete'ma 
one 


pele't 
us 


te'we 
word. 


ete'ma 

one 


te'we 
word 


tiple 
teach 

na't 
me 


mile't 

you, 

yo'rihem 

who  tells 


tiple 
teach 


mile't 
you 


na't 
me 


tipi'hem 
who  teaches 


pi'ma 
that 

pa'l 

now 


mile't 

you 

pele't 
we 


mo'mhule 
(I)  shall  tell 

pisi'n 
with  that 


li'ptitobe' 
shall  die 


pi'sin 
with  that 

pisi'n 
with  that 


pale'i 

we 


pele'i 

we 


hara'tobe 

shall  go 


tepi'tobe 
shall  come  out 


pi'ubem 

thus 

piu'La 
when 


eu'bem 

being  so 


upu 
thus 


pele' 


52  Record  14-1510.    A.  L.  Kroeber  transcriber,  Tom  Odock  translator. 


1919] 


Barrett:  The  Wintun  Hesi  Ceremony 


469 


wila'k 
world 


upu 
thus 


pele' 

\ve 


toiio'Le 
dance 


wi'lak 
world 


noitono'La 
when  dance 


upu 

thus 


pele' 

we 


piun 

thus 


tce'ltaro 

continue, 


piun 
thus 


tce'ltaro 
continue 


piun 
thus 


tce'ltaro 

continue, 


piun 
thus 


tce'ltaro 

continue 


lipti'tibom 
all  will  die, 


lipti'tibom 
all  will  die 


u-ni'sa 
that  told, 


u'-nisa 

that  told 


ii  a' t 

me 


na't 

me 


upu'-nisa 
thus  told 


mo'meLa 
(tell) 


na't 


upu'-nisa 
thus  told, 


pi'La 

there 


pm'msa 
thus  told 


thus 


e'unputa'n 
jumping, 


e'unputa'n 

jumping: 


e'unputa'n 

jumping, 

tce'ltaro 

contimie 


e'unputa'n 
jumping 


PI 

this 


pele 


pi'ura 

thus 


ha'wir 
quick 


peliptu'nica 
die   said 


pi 

that 


pi'mana 
that 


tcupa'ro 
(we)  finished, 


pi'mana 
that 


tcupa'ro 

(we)  finished 


e 

that 


wilak 
world 


e 

that 


wilak 

world 


e 

that 


wilak 
world 


pisi'nupu 
that  is  what 


pele 

we 


li'ptiboin 

die 


li'ptibom 
die 


eun 

that 


putu'rutcu 
I  jumped 


tcu 

I 


nati 
me 


piLa 

there 


emus 

four  times 


tcanda'kumanisa 

make  step  told 


emus 
four  times 


n  a 
me 


tcandakumanisa 
make  step  told, 


piura 
thus 


nat 
me 


tcanda'ku 
step 


u'nisa 
told. 


tcanda'ku 
step 


u'nisa 
told 


pius 
that 

pal 


tcu 
I 


tcanda'k 

step 

pi'uLa 

when 


wi'nisa 
saw 


pi'uLa 
when 


tcu 

I 


lu'mnisa 
died 


pi'uLa 
when 


tcu 
I 


upuLa 
(he)  said 


lu'mnisa 
died 


pi'uLa 
when 


piu'ra 
thus 


tcibo' 


piu'ra 

thus 


tcibo' 

was 


piu'ra 
thus 


tcibo' 
was 


470 


University  of  California  Publications  in  Am.  Arch,  and  Etlin.      [Vol.  14 


tepu'nisa 
(I)  came  out 

wei33 
Thanks, 


piu' 
that 


winit  pi'ui 

get  up  thus 


uni'sa 
told 


nat 
me 


ba'kuma'nisa 
made  (me)  count  (it), 


pi'ut 
that 


nai 
I 


emus  nai 

four  times  I 


ma 


o'u 

yes 


piu'-nisa 
thus  it  was, 


nat 

me 


hetca's 

often 


wi'nit 
get  up 

yuku'robe' 
awaken 


ba'kuma'nisa 
made  (me)  count  (it) 


lu'mitaro 
should  die 


be'nisa 
told 


piu'-nisa 
thus  it  was, 


uro 
that 

piu'-nisa 
thus  it  was 


be'nisa 
told 


A  Third  Bole  Ho  Oration^ 

o,  6!  co'lec  bo'ti35  (3).  nai  nai  wini36  (2),  nat  yori37  (2),  pima  milet 
momhule,38  pima  milet  tlple,  piuLa  mlleupu.  Wilakss  wilakLa  (2),  oubum4°(2). 
pila  pelet  laiukon41  tiabum,42  6  pima  ten  ou'nisa,  laiuk  tepi,  soro43  laiuk  mo'ml, 
soro  ou'nisa,  pm  manat,  ewisin  mile  (2),  piu  •weresun.**  ewisin  mit  pi'umato  eu 
ti  hitamato45  (2).  tci  tcu  mara  poiima  mile  nisa.  pima  nat  momi  sa 
tci'tci46  (2),  pi'ma  tcu  (2),  pima  dukamaru,47  pima  Lutumara,47  bunica  iirteu  mu 
te'u,  mu  tcu  bonica  pi'u  Lanai.  pi  la'iuk  ic.  pi  la'iuk  ic  un,  picin  pi  mile  wereti. 
picen  pi  mile  piuti  piu'La  (3),  poima  mile'nica.48  ui  tcitciimuru4^  (2),  (pi) 
pi  la'iuk  ic  fin  (2),  piuLa  tcur  Lo'tumara^o  bunica,  tcu  teuma  bonica  (2),  pimana 
tco  finica  on  mile  (2).  were  ta  be  ic  eu  fniica,  aihikiisai-"11  fmica.  piuLa  tcfi  toil 


33  An  exclamation  of  pleasure. 

34  Phonograph  record  14-1513.     Numbers  in  parentheses  in   the  text  indicate 
the  number  of  times  that  the  immediately  preceding  phrase — that  is  the  group 
of  words  following  the  last  mark  of  punctuation — is  repeated. 

ss  Listen ! 

ss  What  I  see. 

37  Teach  me. 

3«  I  shall  tell  you  that. 

3»  World 

•*o  Believe. 

41  Good 

42  Call. 

43  ' '  Tell  good  thought. ' ' 

44  Come,  arrive. 

45  "When  you  do  this,  let  him  ask  him." 
4(5  He  that  told  me  choked. 

47  < '  That  wrong. » ; 

48  "Would  not  let  me  mark  (or  write)." 
«  All  choked. 

so  Bad. 

si  "How  is  that?" 


1919]  Barrett:  The  Wintun  Hesi  Ceremony  471 

mulenica52  (2).  nai  nai  piu,  piu  nai  ou'nica  (2),  piumas  ur  ounica.  pi  pi 
tewihem53  piu  matcoun  laiukara  bes  unisa  mile  pi  cin  wereLa  wetura5*  bee  unica, 
picin  mile  were  laiukara  bee  piuLa  bonica  teu  muur.  piuLa  piu  mas  ur  nat  win 
tara  (2).  el  nai  piura  dukamara^s  bo  ou  Latumas  mi  pimami  poros  unica  pi 
piura  yopnanica.56  piuLa  kaL  Lamana57  uitipi'hem58  (2),  kaL  Lamana57  upur- 
benica. 

A  Fourth  Bole  Ho  Oration™ 

6,  6!  mile  pi  (2),  mile  pi  tepiboso  (2),  mile  pi  heLe  bar  mile  be  (2).  wilak 
wilak  Labon,6i  didi62  Labon,  sun  pi  meli  tepibo,  sun  pi  meli  werebo,  sun  pi  mile 
henebon,  piuLa  mile  mile,  elelebosa63  (2),  mile  pima  mile,  tepi  yapai64  win65 
Iiimu66  La  pin  (2),  heLa  hara  67  pe?  lum  tar  pele  bobatin  termur.es  tcelmuso  ur 
ubasa  mile,  pi  mile  yoma70  les  mile  pelelnan  males  topi  mile  henec  e  wilak  La 
eu  dihi02  La  tcun  pi  mile  hene  bo  tcun  pi  mile  tepibo  youmelebe,70  hena  puina71 
harmelebe,  worna72  harmelebe  (2),  tcun  (ic)  mele  hene73  cok  (ic)  (2),  pi  pi 
eura  hene  bo,  eule  pile  ic  un,  eule  pi  pile  un  pabe74  tewe75  dura  un.  eule  piii 
La  tewe,  mutfuhem76  e  e  pabe  tewe.  nai  tewe  tcaihun77  behem7s  (2).  pi  eu 
henes,  uru  tepu  maneca,  tcu  momun  La  melet  eu  matoun.  sun  laiukara  tepu 
matoun  (2).  tcu  piu  boun  piLa  mile  piu  bosaun  upun  mile  tewe  bo  sa  elele,  bo 
sa  mile,  pi  pi  tewe,  hene  bosa.  male  piuhem  un  5impi7o  (2),  henebo  un  sunpi  (2), 
werebo  un  sunpi,  mile  tepibo  un,  wilak  wilak  La  bo  un,  didi  La  bo  un,  piu  La 
mile  mile  upubosa  male  tewe.  pi  ma  borne  bosa.  mile  upubosa  nai  mutu  La  un. 
mile  nai  mutu  La  (2).  nai  sori«o  La  tepi  pabo,  win  lumu  La  harabo,  hetiika 
harabo,  bobo  pele  eii  kir81  La  un,  pi  La  mile  bobo  unisa,  uni  mile  teuteubosa75 
un,  uni  mile  tewibosa.75 


52  Then  I  said  nothing,  he  said. 
58  Spoke. 
s*  Is  right. 

55  Inside  me  thus  is  bad. 

56  Took  it  off. 

57  Made  a  cracking  noise. 

58  That  is  what  he  learned. 
so  Record  14-1514. 

eo  Emerge,  leave. 
fil  Everywhere. 
ea  Villages. 
«3  Doubt,  disbelieve. 

64  Dance. 

65  People. 

66  Dead. 
07  Go. 

68  "We  are  all  dead." 

69  Travel. 

7f>Lost;  melebe,  never. 

71  East. 

72  South. 

73  Come. 


75  Word,  speak,  talk. 

76  Listeners,  listening,  hearing. 

77  Sorry. 

78  Being,  who  are. 

79  Here. 

80  Listen. 
si  Earth. 


472  University  of  California  Publications  in  Am.  Arch,  and  Ethn.      [Vol.  14 

These  speeches  are  to  a  certain  extent  traditional,  but  partly  made 
up  on  the  spur  of  the  moment  by  the  director.  They  are  therefore 
subject  to  a  greater  or  lesser  variation  from  year  to  year  and  cannot  be 
considered  as  strictly  ritualistic  and  fixed  in  their  terminology.  The 
speeches  here  recorded  must  therefore  be  considered  to  evince  some 
personal  element,  although  the  various  orations  of  the  successive  cere 
monies  are  without  doubt  in  a  fair  measure  the  same  verbatim,  and 
certainly  contain  similar  substance  and  sentiment.  While  they  include 
certain  esoteric  elements,  they  consist  more  largely  of  words  which  are 
of  the  common  speech,  so  that  the  people  are  able  to  understand  their 
general  tenor. 


FINAL  DANCE 

The  last  dance  of  the  ceremony  was  made  about  ten  o  'clock  in  the 
evening  by  four  of  the  men  from  the  host  village.  Toward  the  end  of 
this  dance,  the  mokl  appeared  and  participated  in  the  same  manner  as 
in  the  initial  dance  on  the  opening  night. 

At  the  end  of  this  dance  all  three  of  the  tuya  or  big-head  dancers 
were  purified  by  the  fire  tender  in  the  same  manner  as  in  the  after 
noon.  This  dance  and  the  mokl  ceremony  connected  with  it  marked 
the  end  of  the  Hesi  proper. 

Early  in  the  evening  a  grass  game,  kosi,  was  started  outside  the 
dance  house  and  this  continued  throughout  the  night,  not  even  being 
stopped  during  the  above  mentioned  final  dance. 


FOURTH  DAY 

At  about  the  usual  eating  time  on  the  morning  of  the  fourth  day,  a 
final  feast  was  served  at  the  long  table  near  the  dance  house,  after 
which  the  people  all  assembled  in  the  dance  house,  each  group  taking 
its  particular  allotted  place  in  the  space  for  spectators.  The  host 
captain  again  brought  in  baskets  of  acorn  soup  and  cakes  of  black 
meal  and  all  were  served  in  the  same  manner  as  on  their  arrival  four 
days  before. 


FAREWELL  ORATION 

During  this  feast  the  director  delivered  a  farewell  oration,  includ 
ing  a  song,  as  follows: 


1919]  Barrett:  The  Wintun  Hesi  Ceremony  473 

Bole  Ho  and  Song82 

hamse  tcu  nat  ku  tiyamti83  (3).  mutmatu84  tewi  (2),  comatu8*  nat  iyamti,85 
nat  ku  tiyamti.  piuLa  tea  hanicai,86  piiiLa  bonica,  t  'almu87  pilitatara88 
hamtara89  bonica.  pi  La  6u  tcu  mit  tiyasa90  (2).  mutmata84  sorumata01  nai 
pmn  Lakalasok92  (2).  eu  wilak  Cm,  eu  toL,93  piro,94  matapan,95  matapan,  olel9^  bobon, 
pantiaLa97  bobon,  ponoLta98  ic  un,  ponoLta  ic  matapan,  matapan,  tcun  eteta"  bos 
olelbe96  bi  ponoLta  bebe  un  wilak  tcu  tcu  Lahiticioo  Cm  Lahic1(>o  tcu  wilak  heLa 
heiipato,101  heLapa  tcenpati,101  eim  tceltara102  win103  paros,104  piura  win  paros, 
na  nanu  dihi^os  nanu  dihi  nat. 

woaini  woaini    (9) 

eu  wilakioe  woaini   (2) 
woaini  woaini   (2) 

eu  memem107   woaini    (2) 
woaini  woaini    (2) 

eu  toLios  woaini   (2) 
woaini  woaini    (3) 

eu  buliioo  woaini   (2) 
woaini  woaini  (1) 

eu  memem  woaini  (2) 
woaini  w7oaini    (2) 

el  kapai110  w^oaini   (2) 


82  Eecords  14-1515  to  1517;  numbers  have  the  same  meaning  as  in  the  two 
last  speeches. 

83  <  <  Went  I  me  called. ' ' 

84  Hear. 
ss  Called. 
so  Went. 

87  Naked. 

88  Toward  the  east. 

89  ' '  Toward  the  sitting. ' ' 

no  "Was  glad  I  called  you." 

91  Listen. 

92  Play,  dance. 

93  Mountain. 

94  "All." 

95  Your  mother's  brother  (or  grandfather). 

96  Above. 

97  High  up. 

98  Three 

99  One. 

100  Seek. 

101  Find. 

102  Travel  toward. 

103  People. 

104  Crowded. 

105  My  villages,  settlements. 
100  This  world. 

107  These  waters. 

108  These  mountains, 
loo  These  foothills. 
no  These  streams. 


474  University  of  California  Publications  in  Am.  Arch,  and  EtJin.        [Vol.  14 

woainl  woaini  (1) 

ei  memem  woaini  (2) 
woaini  woaini  (2) 

ei  tukim  woaini  (2) 
woaini  woaini  (1) 

ei  memem  woaini  (2) 
woaini  woaini  (2) 

ei  kodoi112  woaini   (2) 

ei  memem  woaini  (2) 
woaini  woaini  (4) 

eu  pi  bo  tcu  tens  (2),  muhima  Le'taraii*  (2),  eu  pi  bo  tcu  te  (2),  teumupiiis 
tcu  eu  bo  eu  pi  bo  tcu  nai  Lakala  La,116  e  nai  toL  Lakala  La,  e  nai  wilak  Lakala  La, 
e  nai  tuki  Lakala  La,  e  kodoi  Lakala  La. 

eun  pi  tcu  te  (2).  Lakala  bon  eun  pi  tcu,  Lakala  bon.  eura  polopura117  (2), 
polopura  (2),  e  tcolic118  bo  tcolic  bo,  eura  pi  tcu  were  bo.  tuniis  ut  poltura117 
eunisa,  tun  ut  poltura.  eurii  be  ut  piLa  piLao  ut  kaLaptonisa.iso  piLao  hataraisi 
hatara  hatara  hatara.  mobtara122  nat  boni123  tcu  teu,  pinisa.124  eu  pi  bo  tcu 
unisai25  (2),  nai  Lakala  La.ns  toL  pi  tcu  Lakala  bo  (2),  cu  mem  Lakala  bo,  eu 
mem  in  pi  tcu  Lakala  bo,  unisa. 

Free  Paraphrase 

My  father  called  me  and  spoke  to  me.  He  called  me  to  hear  his  counsel. 
I  went  above  and  found  him  naked  and  seated  facing  the  east.  He  was  glad 
to  see  me,  and  said:  "I  called  you  that  you  might  hear  what  I  have  to  say. 
This  world  and  these  mountains  are  your  maternal  uncles.  There  are  three 
worlds  above.  There  are  three  there,  three  of  your  uncles.  There  are  already 
three  worlds  above,  but  I  shall  somewhere  find  a  place  where  people  may  be 
sent.  The  world  is  crowded  enough." 

The  song  follows.  "My  father's"  speech  to  the  dreamer  then  continues: 
"I  do  thus  (i.e.,  sing  this)  when  I  look  for  another  place  (i.e.,  world). 
I  never  talk  bad.  I  do  this  when  I  play,  when  I  play  on  these  mountains,  when 
I  play  on  this  world,  when  I  play  on  these  trees,  when  I  play  on  these  rocks. 
I  do  this,  my  son.  I  swell  up  thus  (illustrating)  and  swell  and  swell  and  swell. 
I  shall  show  this  way  to  you.  This  is  the  way  I  come. ' '  His  body  was  wholly 
swelled.  He  was  like  that  for  a  while  there.  Then  he  became  normal  in  the 


111  These  woods,  trees. 

112  These  rocks. 
us  Son. 

114  "Song  stop." 

us  Not  speak,  say  nothing. 

us  Play  up  on,  when  play. 

117  Swelled. 

us  Stay. 

no  Body. 

120  Said,  it  is  well. 

121  Gone. 

122  Good. 

123  Stay. 

124  Said  this. 
i2s  Said  that. 


1919]  Barrett:  The  Wintun  Hesi  Ceremony  475 

same  place.  The  swelling  was  gone.  He  told  me,  "Remain  to  talk.  I  do 
thus,"  he  said,  "When  I  play  on  those  mountains,  when  I  play  in  the  water, 
I  play  thus, ' '  he  said. 

DEPARTURE 

The  guests  then  prepared  to  depart,  and  by  half  past  ten  or  eleven 
o'clock,  the  village  was  left  with  only  its  usual  population.  The 
director  and  the  captain,  together  with  one  or  two  assistants,  rolled  up 
and  laid  away  the  dancing  paraphernalia  and  in  general  took  care  of 
whatever  it  was  desired  to  save  for  a  future  ceremony.  The  village 
then  resumed  its  usual  quietude  and  the  people  recuperated  from  the 
long  vigil  of  the  ceremony,  for  during  these  four  days  and  nights  most 
of  them  had  scarcely  slept. 


ADDITIONAL  SPEECHES  AND  SONGS 

The  following  additional  speeches  and  songs  belong  in  the  cere 
mony  but  have  no  fixed  place  in  it.  Various  other  songs  and  speeches 
were  also  delivered  but  time  did  not  permit  their  recording. 

Bole  Ho  Speech^2® 

pi'roboiti,  remain  thus 

gu'tcima  mile't  ti'ple,  a  little  (I)  you  inform 

ete'ma  t'e'we  pa'mpama  tVwe,  one  word,  two  words 

milet  ti'ple,  inform  you 

o'uraboiti  (2),  (and  ye)   say  yes 

pi'ro  wi'lakupo   (2),  thus  in  the  world 

mo'ktaro  were'bem  (2),  make  will  come 

pele'tuka,  to  us 

to  pimma  pele't  paLe'to  (2),  they  us  will  drive  out 

pi'ura  were'bem,  so  will  come 

he'u  wila'k  (2),  this  world 

pi'ura  were'bem,  so  will  come 

pi  sun  mile  didi'La  didi'La,  here  you  in  the  settlements,  in  the  settlements 

nanu  t'e'we  o'ura  mi'le  were'  (2),  my  words  approving  you  come 

pi  tci'derobes,  that  was  straight 

pi  la'iokarobes,  that  was  good 

male'ipiu,  what  you  do 

nana  t  Vwe  o'  'u,  my  words  approve 

pi'uLaupu  tcama'win,  when  on  those  white  persons 

tcama'winupa  (2),  on  white  persons 

pi'lei  i  ma'natibom  (2),  us  will  resemble 

mui'tibom,  will  sing 


126  Record  14-1509,  Thomas  Odock  translator,  A.  L.  Kroeber  transcriber. 
The  lines  indicate  the  phrasing,  which  is  marked  by  considerable  pauses,  which 
are  rhetorical  rather  than  grammatical.  Numbers  denote  repetitions  of  phrases. 


476  University  of  California  Publications  in  Am.  Arch,  and  Ethn.      [Vol.  14 

mu'hun  tono'tibom,  sing  will  dance 

o'ura  o'uLa  pile  piu'tibom,  approving,  when  approve  we  shall  do  so 

o'ura  were'hem,  approving  who  come 

pi'uLa  upu  were'bem,  thus  will  come 

pi'uLa  wile'tuka,  thus  they 

wile'tuka  we'rebem,  they  will  come 

wile'i  o'uuLa  o'uuLa  we'rebem,  they  when  approve,  when  approve,  will  come 

la'iokato  were'bem  (2),  being  good  will  come 

eu  tcama'winoi  pele'no  t  Vwe,  these  white  people  our  words 

pale  uli  tcu  do'is  ule  tcu  do'is,  we  (only)  I  give,  (only)  I  give 

ule  tcu  tipis,   (only)  I  inform 

male'yimanan   (2),  like  yourselves 

eu'n  Laka'lmato  (2),  thus  playing  (dancing) 

tcu  do'is  pimma,  I  give  them 

nanu  t'e'we,  my  words 

na'i  tcayu'nbobem  (2),  I  who  remain  ashamed 

pi'mma  tcu  ti'pis,  them  I  inform 

pi'umato,  doing  thus 

to  pi'mma  mele't  paLe'mato,  they  you  (putting  out?) 

to  pi'mma  mele't  ebu'mato,  they  you  (getting  out?) 

sun  sun  tcu  mele't  pi'us,  here,  here  I  for  you  do  so 

sun  sun  te'pito,  here,  here  emerge 

mile  e'uLa  ha'rmiles,  you  when  go  (nowhere?) 

pe  mi'le  le'luna'nmu  eles  (2),  you  become  otherwise  (at  death) 

pi'uLa  mi'le  sun  he'nes,  so  when  you  here  come 

sun  mi'le  he'nes,  here  you  come 

sun  mi'le  te'pis,  here  you  emerge 

sun  pi  he'nebo  wilakwila'ksel,  here  will  come  from  all  over  the  world 

di'disel  pi  sun  hene'bo,  from  the  settlements  here  will  come 

eu  ke'weLa,  to  this  dance  house 

eu  wo'leLa,  to  this  dance  floor 

sun  hene'bo  sun  pi  hene'bo,  here  will  come,  here  will  come 

urabes,  so    (I)   say 

First  Mold 
wuu'u  wuu'u 
tate'  (3),  father 
wile  cekte'i  (3),  healthy  chief 
wiles  euLa',  healthy 
pima  tcu  euLa',  that  I 
pida  euLa',   (bring?) 
pima  tcu  euLa',  that  I 
pida  t  'eweda  euLa',  that  word 
wile  t'eweda  euLa,  healthy  word 
(record  indistinct) 
wileda'  (5),  healthy 


127  Eecord  14-1508,  Odock-Kroeber  transcription.  The  phrases  are  very 
marked  and  accented  on  the  last  syllables.  The  translation  of  the  eternal  "euLa"! 
has  not  been  attempted.  It  seems  to  mean  "at  this"  or  "when  so."  This 
speech  is  in  much  more  rigid  ritualistic  form  than  the  last,  and  may  be  more 
representative  of  the  pre-ghost-dance  Hesi  manner.  It  is  perhaps  a  prayer  as 
much  as  a  speech.  It  is  not  a  report  of  a  recent  vision  of  the  "father,"  like 
several  of  the  preceding. 


1919]  Barrett:  Tlie  Wintun  Eesi  Ceremony  477 

Second  MoM 
\virn  u  wuu  u 
piLa  tcu  euLa 
naminda  tcu  euLa 
nan  wileda  euLa 
naiiu  *Lupuru  euLa 
pima  helairu  euLa   (=B) 
(indistinct  phrase) 
(indistinct  phrase) 
pima  tcu  were  *boti  *boai 
euLa 

nanuda  euLa 
nanu  takada  euLa 
wile  takada  euLa 
pima  *Lupuru  euLa  (=  A) 
pima  helairu  euLa  (=  B) 
humli  takada  euLa 
pida  helaira  euLa 
A 

sai  takada  euLa 
A 
B 

tekis  takada  euLa 
wile  takada  euLa 
A 
B 

nanu  humtu  takada  euLa 
A 
B 

hima  euLa 
nanu  yulakda  euLa 
A 
B 

nanu  *Lupuru  euLa 
B 

nanu  Loda  euLa 
A 
B 
A 

pisin  *hobloro  euLa 
(indistinct  phrase) 
namin  *Lekicda  euLa 
nanu  *Leida  euLa 
nanu  *pelel  euLa 
nanu  piLa  euLa 
hima  euLa 
wile  *Lupura  euLa 
pima  *holumpuluru  euLa 


128  Same  source  as  the  preceding,  and  the  same  remarks  apply.  "A"  and 
' '  B ' ;  in  the  text  stand  respectively  for  ' ( pima  Lupura  euLa' ' '  and  ' '  pima  helairu 
euLa'. ' '  Helairu  means  to  hold  something  in  the  hands  and  move  it  alternately 
to  the  right  and  left.  Starred  words  are  said  to  have  an  esoteric  meaning. 


478  University  of  California  Publications  in  Am,.  Arch,  and  Ethn.      [Vol.  14 

nanu  *pototoi  takada  euLa 

A 

B 

A 

pida  euLa 

hima  euLa 

pida  tcu    (4) 

*Lupuru  tcu 

pima  tcu  helairu  tcu 

*wesai  taka  tcu 

e  wile  taka  tcu 

e  LO  taka  tcu 

e    pima    *hobloro    euLa    (2) 

pida  tcu  (2) 

pida  tcu  wetaru  (2) 

hene  boti  *boai 

Glossary  of  principal  words  in  order  of  occurrence.  —  piLa,  at  that,  there,  when; 
tcu,  I;  namin,  mine;  -da,  translated  "and"  (sic)  ;  nan,  nanu,  my;  wile,  healthy; 
pima,  that,  they  (-ma  is  a  causative  suffix  of  verbs  and  a  plural  of  nouns  de 
noting  persons);  were,  arrive;  ta~ka,  crop  of  acorns  or  wild  growths;  humli,  a 
species  of  oak;  sai,  a  species  of  oak;  tekis,  a  species  of  oak;  humtu,  fat,  grease, 
probably  referring  to  the  oily  acorn  called  hamsu;  hima,  indeed,  surely;  yuldk, 
acorns  of  Quercus  wizlizeni;  LO,  a  kind  of  long  acorn;  pisin,  with  that;  wetaru, 
arrive  with;  hene,  come. 


Four  Speeches  by  the 

I 

wuu  u  (4) 
piLa  tcu  euLa  (2) 
nanu  tcalalLa  euLa 
wile  tcalalLa  euLa 
pira  helayuru  euLa 
pima  *Lupuru  euLa 
pima  *cekaru  euLa 
piLa  euLa 

(indistinct  phrase) 
wile  t  'ewe  euLa 
(indistinct  phrase) 
nanu  t  'ewe  tcu 
wile   t'ewe  tcu 
tcalal  t'ewe  tcu 
tcalal  t'ewe  tcu 
nanu  bole  t  'ewe  tcu 
piLa  tcu  wiaru 
*Lupuru  tcu  pima  helairu  tcu 
(indistinct  phrase:    piLa  tcu  .  .  .  kayire  tcu) 
piLa   *pulaki   *boti   *boai 


129  Eecord  14-1494,  Odock-Kroeber  transcription.  Spoken  by  Salvador  in  a 
high-keyed  voice,  wrhile  walking  about  the  dance  house  in  his  Moki  cloak. 
Starred  words  are  esoteric;  the  principal  others  will  be  found  in  the  preceding 
or  following  glossary. 


1919]  Barrett:  The  Wintun  Hesi  Ceremony  479 

II 

wuu'u  (2) 
wi/le  sekte'i  (2) 
wi'leda  tcu 
nanu  wi'leda  tcu 
nanu  wile  tcu 
wi'leda  tcu  hela'iru  tcu 
lila'inma  wile  le'loru  tcu 
lo'ibama  wile  le'loru  tcu 
se'ribama  wile  le'loru  tcu 
pida'  tcu  nanu  wi'leda  tcu 
tca'lal  wile'da  tcu 
bo'le  wile'da  tcu 
pi'da  tcu  *pula'ki  *boti  *boa'i 

in 

wuu'u    (3) 
wile  sekte'i 
wi'leda  tcu 
nanu  wile'da  tcu 
na'nu 

wi'le  tca'lalda 
wile  *Lupi'da 
wile  helai'da 
(indistinct  phrase) 
pi'ma  tcu  hela'iru 
pima  *Lu'puru 
pima  tcu  (indistinct  word) 
ila'inma  tcu 
lo'ibama 
wile  le'loru 
se'ribama  wile  le'loru 
se'ktubama 
pi'  ra  tcu  wreta'ru  he'ne  *boti  *boa'i 

IV 

wuu'u    (2) 
wile  sekte'i  (2) 
wile  *be'sai 

wi'leda  tcu  na'nu  wi'leda  tcu 
bo'le  wi'leda  tcu 

pima  *Lupuru  tcu  pima  tcu  hela'iru  tcu 
pi'da  wile'da  tcu 
pi'da  *pulaki  *boti  *boa'i 


Supplementary  Glossary. — tcalal,  pretty,  literally,  rose  blossom,  probably  a 
ghost-dance  word;  helairu,  helayuru,  lielai-da,  sway,  swing  sidewise  repeatedly; 
t'ewe,  word,  speak;  ~bole,  ghost,  spirit  of  a  dead  person;  wiaru,  gather;  seMei, 
selctu,  chief;  lilain-ma,  ilain-ma,  children;  leloru,  are  made,  become;  loiba-ma, 
girls,  maidens;  seriba-ma,  youths. 


480  University  of  California  Publications  in  Am.  Arcli.  and  Ethn.      [Vol.  14 

Farewell  Speech  to  Visitors*™ 
o'u 

pi'ra  hene'ti  (4) 
pe'le  hene'sa 
hene'sa  pe'le  hene'sa 
se'ktu  ma'tin 
ma'in  ma'tin 
ma'ino  t'e'we 
o'uura 

o'uura  ut  piu'ti 
o'ura  ut  e'ubu 
e'ubu  e'ubu 
pi'La  lomu'ru 
piLa  we'yuru 
e'ura  pele'  huya'La 
e'ura  pele'  piu'La 
piura  pele'  huya'sa 
u'no  wo'leLa  (2) 
u'no  te'wekLa 
u'La  pele'  huya'sa 
piLa'  pele'  huya'sa 
piu'La  (2) 
pima  lomu'ru 
ewet  lomu'ru  (2) 
weyu'ti 
o  Vti 
o  'u'sapi 
pele't  piu'La 
tci'dupasa  pele't 
pi'ra  pele't  witi'lupasa 

pi'ura  pele'  u'no  ke'weLa  piu'sa  u'no  wo'leLa  piu'sa 
pi'La  pele'  o  'uparo 
ut  lomu'ru 
ut  we'yuru 

weyu'ru  pele'  piu'sa    (2) 
eu'to  eu'to 
eu'n  pele'  piu'to 
u'no  wo'leLa  ha'mtaro. 
u'no  ou'La  ha'mtaro 
pi'ra  pele'  piu'to 
weyu'to 
oVto 

(h)  eu'sa  pele'  eu'sa 
(h)eu'sa  pe'le 
(Pause) 

o'u'ra  o'u'ra  (2) 
o  'u'ti 
ut  o'u'ti 
ut  weyu'ti 
ewe'ti  sektuma 
ewe't  mainma 


130  Eecord  14-1499,  Odock-Kroeber  transcription. 


1919]  Barrett:  The  Wintun  Hesi  Ceremony  481 

o  Vti 

o  'u'ti  u'no  t  Vwe 

u'no  so'ko 

u'i  mile't  piu'hem 

piu'ra  tci'dupara  mile't 

piu'ra  witi'lupahem 

pi'La  o'uti 

u'no  t'e'we 

u'no  t'e'we  u'no  so'ko 

pi'ma  *koto'ro 

pi'ra  lomu'ti 

lomu'ti  ut  lomu'ti 

e'ura  mile't  huya"ma 

e'ura  mile't  we'yuma 

e'ura  mile't  tiya'sa 

o'u'ti  u'no  t'e'we 

u'no  o  'uti 

o'u'ti    oVti 

o'ura  pele  were'  (2) 

se'ktuno  t'e'we 

ma'ino  t'e'we 

pi'ma  pele'  lomu'ru 

pi'ma  pele'  we'yuru 

pi'ma  pele'  piu'sa 

o'u'sa  pele'  o'u'sa 

Glossary:  Endings. — sa,  -nisa,  past;  -ti,  -Us,  future,  exhortative,  imperative; 
-to,  future;  -ma,  causative;  -hem,  he  who;  -pa,  -paro,  for;  -bem,  -tibom,  future; 
-t,  objective;  -no,  possessive;  -La,  on,  in,  at,  when;  -sel,  from;  -sin,  with;  -upo, 
-upu(?},  at,  on  (?);  -tara,  -taro,  toward,  on  to.  Stems. — hene,  come;  pele,  pile, 
we;  main,  "queen,"  "chief's  sister,"  woman  of  princely  family;  ou,  yes,  say 
yes,  approve;  piu,  do  that;  lomu,  glad,  rejoice;  weyu,  glad,  rejoice;  huya,  gather, 
assemble;  (u,  he),  ut,  him,  uno,  his;  wole,  floor  or  area  of  dance  house;  teweTc, 
cleared  space  in  front  of  dance  house;  tcidu,  straight,  come  straight;  witilu, 
run;  Tcewe,  dance  house;  ham,  sit;  mile,  ye;  solco,  teach. 

Three  Toto  Dance  Songs***- 

1.  ne'pe  sume  huya'sane 

2.  he  hiyo'yoho 
were'ltina  were'ltina 
he  hiyo'yoho 

3.  ho'pil  hopi'l 
ho'pil  hopi'l 
ne'pil  nepi'l 
ne'pil  nepi'l 

Nepe,  nepil  is  the  first  person  inclusive  dual,  "I  and  thou";  huyasane  was 
translated  "rocking,"  but  huya  also  means  to  gather  or  assemble;  wereltina 
was  said  to  mean 'south. 


Eecords  14-1492,  14-1496. 


482  University  of  California  Publications  in  Am.  Arcli.  and  Ethn.      [Vol.  14 

Moki's  Speech  of  Welcome  in  the  Toto  Dance^^- 

piru  boti 
piru  boti  piru 
laiakuru  boti 
laiakuru  boti  laiakuru 
pima  weyuru 
pima  lomuru 
(h)e  t'ewe  lomuru 
e  lomuru 
e  tcalal  lomuru 
wile  tcalal  lomuru 
milet  iLa 
o'ura  boti  (2) 
o'uto  pele  were  (2) 
eura  pele  piuto 
o  'uto 
weyuto 
we  tatcu  uto 
we  apatcu  uto 
we  labatcu  uto 
(h)  eura  pele  huyaLa  (2) 
piLa  pele  lomuto 
peleno  t'ewe  (2) 
pira  weyuru 
weyusa  tcu  weyusa 
ten  lomusa 
lomuru  oparu 
lomuru  weyuru 
pima  o'uru 
pima  lomuru 

Except  for  laba,  older  brother,  this  speech  contains  no  words  not 
found  in  the  preceding  ones :  we — uto  in  lines  17-19  is  evidently  equi 
valent  to  we(ij)u-to.  This  identity  of  phraseological  material  is  signi 
ficant  for  Wintun  oratory.  The  speaker 's  freedom  lies  chiefly  in  mak 
ing  a  different  random  arrangement  of  the  same  words.  That  a  Toto 
speech  should  so  closely  parallel  the  Hesi  speeches,  need  not  surprise, 
in  view  of  the  Toto  being  only  a  modern  substitute  for  one  of  the  two 
annual  Hesi  performances. 


THE  HAND  GAME 

The  "hand"  or  "grass"  game,133  often  played  by  the  Wintun  as 
an  adjunct  to  the  Hesi,  runs  as  follows. 


132  Phonograph  record  14-1496,  Odock-Kroeber  transcription. 

133  Mr.  Stewart  Culin  mentions  this  Wintun  game,  giving  its  native  name  as 
dam,  in  his  Games  of  the  North  American  Indians,  Eep.  Bur.  Am.  Ethn.,  xxiv, 
283,  1907. 


1919]  Barrett:  The  Wintun  Hesi  Ceremony  483 

Two  pairs  of  cylindrical  bones  from  two  to  two  and  a  half  inches 
in  length  and  half  an  inch  in  diameter  are  used.  One  of  each  pair 
is  wound  about  its  middle  with  string  or  sinew  in  order  to  mark  it. 
With  these  bones  is  required  a  considerable  quantity  of  finely  chopped 
grass  or,  if  this  is  not  available,  straw. 

The  tally  of  the  game  is  kept  by  means  of  twelve  sticks  about  eight 
or  ten  inches  in  length.  These  at  the  start  are  held  by  what  may  be 
called  a  tally  keeper  or  overseer  of  the  game,  called  koimeru.  His 
name  is  the  same  as  that  of  the  fire  tender  of  the  dance  house,  and 
ordinarily  the  same  individual  serves  both  offices.  His  fee  for  this 
service  is  a  portion,  usually  about  ten  per  cent,  of  the  stakes. 

A  large  mat  or  blanket  is  ordinarily  spread  on  each  side  of  a 
middle  ground  which  is  perhaps  five  to  eight  feet  across,  and  on  each 
of  these  mats  two  players  kneel,  sitting  on  their  heels.  Each  is  pro 
vided  with  a  quantity  of  the  chopped  grass,  and  each  usually  has  with 
him  one  or  more  charm  stones  which  he  inserts  under  his  mat  for  good 
luck.  The  tally  keeper  kneels  or  sits  at  a  point  midway  between  the 
two  sets  of  players  and  at  a  little  distance  back,  where  he  can  see  both 
sides  as  the  game  progresses. 

He  at  first  holds  the  twelve  counters  and  the  four  bones  with  which 
the  game  is  to  be  played.  In  case  it  is  a  game  between  residents  on  one 
side  and  visitors  on  the  other,  the  visitors  are  always  given  the  bones 
first.  If  it  is  played  between  two  sets  of  visitors,  or  two  sets  of  resi 
dents,  priority  is  arranged  by  lot.  The  players  of  the  holding  side 
take  each  a  marked  and  an  unmarked  bone  and  roll  them  between  their 
palms  for  a  minute  or  two,  singing  meanwhile  their  gambling  song 
and  usually  spitting  upon  the  bones  as  they  roll  them.  They  then  take 
up  in  each  hand  a  quantity  of  the  chopped  grass  and  hide  each  of  the 
bones  in  a  small  bundle  of  it.  The  hands  are  now  passed  back  of  the 
body  and  the  two  bundles  of  grass  rolled  back  and  forth  rapidly  from 
one  hand  to  another.  Often  the  bundles  are  brought  to  the  front 
again  and  shuffled  there  as  rapidly  as  possible.  The  purpose  is  to  con 
fuse  the  opposing  side,  whose  object  it  is  to  guess  in  which  hand  the 
marked  bone  of  each  player  remains. 

All  this  time  the  shufflers  sing  their  individual  gambling  songs 
kosl  mull)  ;  although  frequently  only  one  of  a  pair  of  players  actu 
ally  sings  an  air,  the  other  accompanying  him  with  a  more  monotonous 
burden.  Some  players  start  with  an  air  when  they  first  take  the 
bones,  but  upon  burying  these  in  the  rolls  of  grass  their  song  is 
reduced  to  a  sort  of  low  chant  or  hum,  which  is  kept  up  until  the  guess 


484  University  of  California  Publications  in  Am.  Arch,  and  Ethn.      [Vol.  14 

of  the  opposite  side  is  finally  made.  If  the  guess  is  correct  and  the 
player  loses,  he  sings  again  in  a  low  voice;  or  in  case  the  guess  is 
incorrect  and  he  wins,  he  breaks  out  wildly  into  the  same  air.  During 
all  this  rolling  and  preparing  for  the  guess,  the  body  is  kept  swinging 
and  swaying. 

These  are  the  words  of  a  gambling  song,  which  calls  on  the  stakes 
to  come  to  the  player : 

hima  mi  weni-hiya  hima  you  come 

kay-uro  mi  weni-hiyo  walking  you  come 

Lube  mi  weni-hiya  net  you  come134 

Finally,  when  the  player  holding  the  bones  is  fully  prepared,  he 
places  his  right  hand  in  front  of  him,  and  his  left  at  the  small  of  his 
back.  The  guesser  meanwhile,  for  only  one  person  of  the  opposing 
side  guesses  at  a  time,  has  struck  his  chest  with  his  left  fist  several 
times,  and  swung  his  right  arm  at  full  length  in  front  of  him,  point 
ing  his  right  forefinger  four  times  at  the  opposing  side.  Finally, 
when  the  rollers  of  the  bones  signify  their  readiness  for  the  guess  by 
placing  their  hands  in  the  proper  position,  he  points  or  snaps  his 
fingers  toward  them  and  cries  out  his  guess.  If,  however,  he  is  not 
satisfied  with  the  rolling  and  unprepared  to  guess,  he  gives  a  different 
call  and  the  rollers  must  then  shuffle  the  bones  again  before  he  is 
obliged  to  guess. 

The  positions  may  be  as  follows,  x  indicating  the  marked  and  o 
the  unmarked  bones. 

Right  Left  Right  Left 

X  O                                    X                                    O 

0  X                                      O                                      X 

O  X                                      X                                      0 

X  O                                      O  X 

Another  position  is  now  and  then  used :  both  bones  in  one  hand. 
Since  only  the  position  of  the  marked  bone  counts,  this  device  does  not 
alter  the  effect  of  the  guess. 

As  the  guesser  finally  points  and  calls  his  guess,  the  two  players 
open  their  hands.  If  he  has  guessed  both  of  them  correctly,  the  bones 
pass  to  his  side,  and  one  of  the  former  shufflers  now  becomes  the 
guesser.  If  he  has  guessed  incorrectly  on  both  bones,  the  tally  keeper 
pays  two  counters  to  the  shufflers  and  they  retain  the  bones  and  resume 
hiding  them.  If  the  guesser  is  correct  on  only  one  of  the  bones,  the 


i34Kecord  14-1500. 


1919]  Barrett:  The  Wintun  Hesi  Ceremony  485 

shuffler  whom  he  has  guessed  stops  playing,  but  no  counters  are  passed, 
since  the  correct  guess  offsets  the  incorrect  one.  The  surviving  shuffler 
rolls  the  bones  again  and  a  new  guess  is  made  on  his  hands.  If  this 
second  guess  is  incorrect,  the  tally  keeper  pays  out  one  counter.  The 
guessing  is  continued  for  the  one  outstanding  bone,  at  the  cost  of  a 
counter  for  each  miss,  until  it  is  found.  Both  players  of  the  original 
shuffling  side  having  now  been  eliminated,  the  bones  pass  to  the 
guessers,  and  the  game  proceeds  as  before.  The  tally  keeper  pays  out 
for  all  incorrect  guesses  until  all  twelve  of  his  counters  are  gone,  after 
which  payment  for  misses  is  made  directly  by  the  guessers  to  the 
hiding  side. 

The  bones  and  counters  may  go  back  and  forth  from  one  side  to 
the  other  for  a  considerable  time.  The  game  is  won  when  one  side 
possesses  all  twelve  counters.  The  winners  then  divide  the  stakes, 
after  the  tally  keeper's  deduction.  Anyone  except  the  tally  keeper 
may  bet.  A  large  number  frequently  join,  each  piece  of  property  or 
coin  laid  down  being  matched  by  the  opposing  side.  Custom  rather 
expects  any  proffered  bet  to  be  met,  although  part  is  sometimes  with 
drawn  if  the  opponents  have  difficulty  in  accumulating  a  like  stake. 

The  guessing  in  this  game  is  usually  done  by  one  or  the  other  of 
the  players  themselves,  but  sometimes  a  side-better,  reported  to  be 
skilful  or  lucky,  acts  as  guesser. 


EXPLANATION  OF  PLATES 

PLATE  22 

Fig.  1.  The  Wintun  village  of  Let  in  Cortina  Valley,  Colusa  County,  Cali 
fornia. 

Fig.  2.  Director's  assistant- placing  the  rain  and  food  fetishes  (recent 
type)  of  the  Hesi  ceremony  on  the  roof  of  the  dance  house. 

Fig.  3.  Moki  performing  dance  about  the  high  pole  in  front  of  the  dance 
house.  This  pole  with  its  banner  seems  to  be  a  recent  innovation  under  Itole 
or  ghost  dance  influence. 

Fig.  4.  Moki  performing  ceremonial  dance  about  the  feasting  table  and 
poles  used  in  the  Hesi. 


[486] 


UNIV.    CALIF.    PUBL.    AM.    ARCH.    ETHN.    VOL,     14  [BARRETT]    PLATE    22 


Fig.    1 


K 


Fig.  3 


Fig.  4 


PLATE   23 

Fig.  1.  Fire  dancers  returning  to  the  dance  house  after  the  plunge  in  the 
creek  which  follows  the  fire  or  sweat  dance. 

Fig.  2.  Visitors  from  the  Sacramento  river  region  entering  the  dance  house 
on  their  arrival. 

Fig.  3.     Tuya  ("big  head")   dancers  approaching  the  dance  house. 

Fig.  4.     Tuya  dancers,  with  their  tcelitu,  standing  in  front  of  the  dance  house. 


[  488  J 


UNIV.    CALIF.    PUBL.    AM.    ARCH.    ETHN.    VOL.     14  [BARRETT]    PLATE    23 


riff,  i 


Fig.  3 


Fig.  4 


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